Super Sentai Short Stories & One-shot Collection
by dreamcoloredgift
Summary: A collection of one-shots featuring our Super Sentai OTP's that most of us would ship.
1. Know My Longing Heart

" _If you know my longing heart, please come back to me…" ~From the Korean song "Will Be Back" by Lee Sun Hye_

* * *

He should've noticed that one attack. He should've seen it earlier so he could shield her from it. But all he could think of right now was those things he should've done to save her.

It was too late.

He couldn't do it.

He didn't do it.

He couldn't give that heck of a reason that he was preoccupied when several Indavers were blocking him. He could've destroyed all of them.

But he couldn't.

He never did.

And now here she was—lying there unconscious.

Hammy took the hit that was supposed to be for him. Just as how Champ did the same thing before.

Stinger closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists the same way. He wanted to shout and throw his rage to almost everything and everyone but he still tried not to do that. It would only frustrate him even more.

He was sitting on the lounge chair outside the infirmary where Hammy was currently at and being tended. It was definitely a repeat of what happened back then with Champ. What in the world was going on? Why did it have to happen again?

Despite his friends' consolation, it seemed that none of them actually registered in his mind at all. He remained sitting there until the doctor and Commander Shou Ronpou said to him that Hammy was out of danger. But the impact of the attack which she sustained would let her stay unconscious for a few days.

"Partner…" Champ called out. Stinger just raised his head to look at the bull. His eyes were lifeless, which worried even Kotaro. "It's not your fault. That monster would've hit anyone on the team."

Those words didn't console him, though. He lowered his head once again, his fist clenched tighter than it was a while back.

He could've saved her. He could've spared her from the pain and… this. He was supposed to be in her place.

But he wasn't. And it was hurting him—too much.

"I'm sorry… Hammy…" he whispered, his tone in pain and regret.

For a week that passed, Stinger stayed like that, continually blaming himself for what happened. No matter how many times his comrades would say that it wasn't, it seemed that those words never registered in his mind.

One night, he decided to do some thinking someplace else aside from his room and the Orion's main deck. His heart was beating fast when he finally reached his destination—Hammy's room.

His hand froze in mid-air as he was about to open the door. Was he supposed to hesitate now? He already reached this place. And he finally decided this a while back. Besides, he had to make sure that she was okay… that she would come back.

With that thought, Stinger opened the door to Hammy's room. The lamp placed on the wall was giving off a dim lighting, but it was still enough to let him see her on her bed, still unconscious. His eyes softened at that sight.

As careful as he could, he approached her and sat on the edge of the bed. Before he could even think of what else to do, he found himself holding her hand that was placed on her side. He couldn't help feeling scared when he found it cold. But he calmed down when he felt her pulse.

"Why am I going through this because of you?" To be honest, it was the question that Stinger had been struggling to find answers for a week since Hammy was taken down by that monster.

Though his friends, particularly Champ, already defeated it, he still couldn't find satisfaction in it. He could tell that his partner did it for him. But it wasn't enough.

He looked at the sleeping Hammy once again with his hand holding hers as gently as he could. He'd been wanting to see her awake, smiling at everyone… smiling at him. He wanted to see that again.

He had been longing for that again. Her smile that would always complete his day even though she didn't know that. Her cheerfulness that would make everyone smile.

He wanted to see it all again.

Most of all, he just wanted to see her smiling at him, telling him that it was okay. That everything would be okay.

But because of him, here she was.

"Stinger?"

He was snapped from his own musings and raised his head when he heard that. His eyes widened when he saw those sleepy eyes looking at him. He appeared to have been frozen to the spot when because of that.

"What are you doing here?" Hammy continued asking before she could even notice his hand holding hers.

But when she did, she couldn't stop the warmth creeping up to her cheeks. Why-? How-?

It didn't take long before Stinger finally noticed the one thing that made Hammy quiet again. He looked down at their holding hands. But instead of letting it go, he did something else entirely that surprised her.

As careful as he could, he lowered down and embraced Hammy. Her eyes widened at that sudden action that she didn't know what to say or do. But her expression soon changed to worry when she noticed something as Stinger remained embracing her.

Though it wasn't very obvious, she could tell that Stinger was crying. His shoulders were shaking, no matter how subtle it was.

"Stinger? What's wrong?" Hammy asked in worry. Did she do something that made him like this?

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" was all Stinger said in between silent cries.

Hammy was speechless. Why was he apologizing?

And then she recalled the battle that put her unconscious for several days. How she realized that the monster would hit Stinger and before she could even stop herself, she ran towards Stinger and blocked the attack that was supposed to hit him.

Could that be the reason why he was saying sorry to him?

But she chose not to say anything. For some reason, she could tell that Stinger won't listen even if she said that it wasn't his fault. Instead, she raised her free hand—the one that he wasn't holding—and placed it on Stinger's back. She tapped it as lightly as she could and rubbed it, as well. Hoping that she would be able to convey her message through that.

For now, it was for the best if no words would be said to convey each other's message.

For now, Stinger was glad that Hammy was finally awake.

For now, Hammy was glad that Stinger wasn't hurt.

At least for now, they would relish this moment before it would all be over.

* * *

 **I had to play the song "Will Be Back" in repeat for me just to get writing through this. Man, where did my inspiration go when I needed it the most? Haha! Yeah, I know. Way too much drama. Not just on this note but in this one-shot, as well.**


	2. It'll Still Be You

**It'll Still Be You (Zyuohger's Yamato & Sela)**

" _If you know my longing heart, please come back to me…" ~From the Korean song "Will Be Back" by Lee Sun Hye_

* * *

He should've noticed that one attack. He should've seen it earlier so he could shield her from it. But all he could think of right now was those things he should've done to save her.

It was too late.

He couldn't do it.

He didn't do it.

He couldn't give that heck of a reason that he was preoccupied when several Indavers were blocking him. He could've destroyed all of them.

But he couldn't.

He never did.

And now here she was—lying there unconscious.

Hammy took the hit that was supposed to be for him. Just as how Champ did the same thing before.

Stinger closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists the same way. He wanted to shout and throw his rage to almost everything and everyone but he still tried not to do that. It would only frustrate him even more.

He was sitting on the lounge chair outside the infirmary where Hammy was currently at and being tended. It was definitely a repeat of what happened back then with Champ. What in the world was going on? Why did it have to happen again?

Despite his friends' consolation, it seemed that none of them actually registered in his mind at all. He remained sitting there until the doctor and Commander Shou Ronpou said to him that Hammy was out of danger. But the impact of the attack which she sustained would let her stay unconscious for a few days.

"Partner…" Champ called out. Stinger just raised his head to look at the bull. His eyes were lifeless, which worried even Kotaro. "It's not your fault. That monster would've hit anyone on the team."

Those words didn't console him, though. He lowered his head once again, his fist clenched tighter than it was a while back.

He could've saved her. He could've spared her from the pain and… this. He was supposed to be in her place.

But he wasn't. And it was hurting him—too much.

"I'm sorry… Hammy…" he whispered, his tone in pain and regret.

For a week that passed, Stinger stayed like that, continually blaming himself for what happened. No matter how many times his comrades would say that it wasn't, it seemed that those words never registered in his mind.

One night, he decided to do some thinking someplace else aside from his room and the Orion's main deck. His heart was beating fast when he finally reached his destination—Hammy's room.

His hand froze in mid-air as he was about to open the door. Was he supposed to hesitate now? He already reached this place. And he finally decided this a while back. Besides, he had to make sure that she was okay… that she would come back.

With that thought, Stinger opened the door to Hammy's room. The lamp placed on the wall was giving off a dim lighting, but it was still enough to let him see her on her bed, still unconscious. His eyes softened at that sight.

As careful as he could, he approached her and sat on the edge of the bed. Before he could even think of what else to do, he found himself holding her hand that was placed on her side. He couldn't help feeling scared when he found it cold. But he calmed down when he felt her pulse.

"Why am I going through this because of you?" To be honest, it was the question that Stinger had been struggling to find answers for a week since Hammy was taken down by that monster.

Though his friends, particularly Champ, already defeated it, he still couldn't find satisfaction in it. He could tell that his partner did it for him. But it wasn't enough.

He looked at the sleeping Hammy once again with his hand holding hers as gently as he could. He'd been wanting to see her awake, smiling at everyone… smiling at him. He wanted to see that again.

He had been longing for that again. Her smile that would always complete his day even though she didn't know that. Her cheerfulness that would make everyone smile.

He wanted to see it all again.

Most of all, he just wanted to see her smiling at him, telling him that it was okay. That everything would be okay.

But because of him, here she was.

"Stinger?"

He was snapped from his own musings and raised his head when he heard that. His eyes widened when he saw those sleepy eyes looking at him. He appeared to have been frozen to the spot when because of that.

"What are you doing here?" Hammy continued asking before she could even notice his hand holding hers.

But when she did, she couldn't stop the warmth creeping up to her cheeks. Why-? How-?

It didn't take long before Stinger finally noticed the one thing that made Hammy quiet again. He looked down at their holding hands. But instead of letting it go, he did something else entirely that surprised her.

As careful as he could, he lowered down and embraced Hammy. Her eyes widened at that sudden action that she didn't know what to say or do. But her expression soon changed to worry when she noticed something as Stinger remained embracing her.

Though it wasn't very obvious, she could tell that Stinger was crying. His shoulders were shaking, no matter how subtle it was.

"Stinger? What's wrong?" Hammy asked in worry. Did she do something that made him like this?

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" was all Stinger said in between silent cries.

Hammy was speechless. Why was he apologizing?

And then she recalled the battle that put her unconscious for several days. How she realized that the monster would hit Stinger and before she could even stop herself, she ran towards Stinger and blocked the attack that was supposed to hit him.

Could that be the reason why he was saying sorry to him?

But she chose not to say anything. For some reason, she could tell that Stinger won't listen even if she said that it wasn't his fault. Instead, she raised her free hand—the one that he wasn't holding—and placed it on Stinger's back. She tapped it as lightly as she could and rubbed it, as well. Hoping that she would be able to convey her message through that.

For now, it was for the best if no words would be said to convey each other's message.

For now, Stinger was glad that Hammy was finally awake.

For now, Hammy was glad that Stinger wasn't hurt.

At least for now, they would relish this moment before it would all be over.

* * *

 **I had to play the song "Will Be Back" in repeat for me just to get writing through this. Man, where did my inspiration go when I needed it the most? Haha! Yeah, I know. Way too much drama. Not just on this note but in this one-shot, as well.**


	3. Exist In This Moment

**Exist In This Moment (AU Kyuranger's Naga & Hammie)**

 **This fic is an AU, set in the "Operation: Cloudbreak" universe. You can read the character profiles for that story that I'm planning to write, it's already posted.**

" _I do not want a "forever", "tomorrow", "later"… I exist in this moment; that's enough…" ~From the Chinese song "Fire Of The Heart" by Julia Peng ft. F.I.R._

* * *

It was that habit again.

Naga had been noticing something about Hammy ever since they were introduced to each other as comrades and one of the recruited agents meant to become what Commander Shou Ronpou called as "Cloudbreakers". He was just traveling, trying to find out the truth about the war 80 years ago.

And yet, here he was-watching a young woman zone out once in a while.

But he had to admit, even if Hammy was like that, he couldn't deny the fact that she intrigued him in more ways than one. She looked happy, and she acted like one, too.

And yet, he noticed something else that was entirely different. Was he supposed to see that?

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you suppose to stay here, too?"

That voice distracted Naga from his thoughts and soon faced the source of that voice. His heart lept-which surprised him a lot-at the sight of Hammy looking at him innocently.

He shook his head and finally decided to approach her. "I just saw you here and I couldn't help watching you."

Oh, dear. What in the world did he just say at that moment?

"W-what? Why is that?"

He could've smiled when Hammy stammered. But more things soon entered his mind that he didn't bother himself doing that. "You… would always look away whenever the discussion was about living."

And there it was again. Her eyes would give off that depressed look.

"What does living even mean when you can't get pass through that one barrier?" Hammy uttered after moments of silence that lingered.

Naga frowned at that. Now he was the one who couldn't understand her. "I- I don't think I get what you mean."

But instead of answering, Hammy closed her eyes and placed her head on the table. He knew she wasn't sleeping and wasn't planning on going to sleep there.

"Hammy-"

"I have to live-at least, live longer than what was planned for me," she soon said in a cracked voice.

Could it be that… she was crying?

As stealthily as he could, Naga sat beside Hammy and was about to console. But his hand froze in mid-air. It was only a few inches closer to Hammy's head. One more move and he would be able to do what he was planning to do.

A few more seconds later and he decided to lower his hand and carefully placed it on Hammy's head. Gently, he caressed her hair which, without a doubt, had surprised her if he would base it on the way she stiffened. But he continued to do so. He wasn't good at consoling others but for some reason, this young woman was starting to make him do things that he won't usually do.

To Naga's surprise, Hammy's hand soon held his that was caressing her hair. She was just holding it from there.

"Will I still exist in some way even when I'm gone?" Hammy asked softly, but her voice was still cracked.

Now he knew that she was crying. Or at least, trying to prevent herself from crying. Why was she saying things like this now?

It wasn't like their mission would actually kill them. Or was it?

She just wanted to exist…

Naga had no idea what to say to counter that. Or perhaps he just wasn't aware of her predicament for now.

Before he could even think of what to do next, he found his body had moved on its own accord. He found himself pulling Hammy close to him and did his best to console him. In which, later on, he realized that he had failed when she cried hard. Silently, but hard.

Okay, what did he do this time for her to be like this?

"Hammy, are you okay?" Naga asked, worry was obviously in his tone.

But she didn't say anything at all. She just cried.

He had no clue as to why Hammy was into the idea of existence. But Naga knew that it was something important for her. Besides, she wouldn't cry like this if the idea was just… that. An idea.

For him, he might not know this yet, but being with her like that as he tried his best to console her… It was already enough.

Her existence alone would soon change his life as he knew it. He just had to make Hammy believe in that. But maybe he could do that some other time.

At the moment, this was what mattered to him. He would stay with her and make sure that she would be okay.

* * *

 **I think I made the right thing, huh? By saying at the start that this is more of an AU kind of fic instead of being set in the Kyuranger universe. If you know what I mean. This one-shot was something I thought of while trying of ways to start one of my pending stories. If you read the character profiles I posted for "Operation: Cloudbreak (Kyuranger Version)", then you'll see there that this fic is actually set in a different universe and plot; thus, the AU.**

 **I hope I made any sense here. Don't worry, I tried making this a stand-alone, an independent one-shot so that even if I start writing the story already, reading this won't affect the original one. Anyway, I'll write another Naga/Hammy fic which is Kyuranger-based if you didn't like this one. But that'll take some time.**


	4. The Two Of Us

**The Two Of Us (Kyuranger's Spada & Raptor)**

" _In that corner, the two of us remain standing without knowing the right answer…" ~From the Japanese song "Miss You" by AAA_

 **x**

Though Raptor knew she would never miss a day that she would write on her daydream diary, she couldn't help noticing that something was going on with her these past few days. Could she amount this to another of her malfunctioning moments? She didn't know what to think.

It appeared that even androids like her would have this kind of moments.

"Raptor, are you okay?"

Well, it wasn't a surprise that the voice which suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts and made her nearly gave out a scream. She had to control her reaction when it comes to that person, after all.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be okay?" Great! Does she even have to chuckle nervously?

"Well, the Commander was talking to you and yet, you're not responding. That's why I asked that," Spada calmly stated.

With that, she panicked and looked around to see if the Commander was really there with her and talking to her. To her confusion, no one was there but her and Spada. She would've frowned if she could. That was why she could only tilt her head in confusion.

"Where is the commander?" Raptor asked and faced the yellow Kyuranger.

"He left about a minute ago. You're writing something in your diary again?"

She looked at her diary. This was one of the reasons why she wanted to know what was wrong with her again. She had to list down the events that happened everyday with regards to her daydreams so that she'd be able to figure it out.

She wanted to know the reason why she was thinking of Spada more and more.

Raptor turned off her diary and hid it behind her. "It is. I'm sorry. I have to go find the commander and apologize." With that, she took off even before Spada could say anything.

As for the chef of the Kyurangers, he was frowning as he was watching Raptor took off like that as if she was being chased. Did he say something wrong, perhaps?

Well, he lied to Raptor on one part, though. Commander Shou Ronpo wasn't talking to her at all. In fact, the commander wasn't even in the room for about an hour now. Which was weird, if someone would ask him.

He was worried, that's why.

Spada had been noticing these past few days that Raptor, though dutiful as ever when it comes to her responsibilities as a pilot and a secretary, wasn't in her usual cheerful self. She must be having those daydreams again.

But what could be the topic of those daydreams she was having?

He had to know.

But then, if he ever realized the reason why Raptor was acting a bit different, would he be able to handle the truth? Especially if that certain truth had something to do with him.

The answer to that might become the greatest shock he would ever encounter his life.

Or not.

Who knows.

 **x**

 **A Spada/Raptor fic, for the first time. And it's a short one, too. I'm not really confident about this given the fact that I've never written anything about a pair in which one of them was an android. If you know what I mean. So forgive me if this turned out to be a bit…**

 **I was supposed to post an AU Yamato/Sela fic but I'm not done yet with that. And I'm also planning to post several AU fics set in "Operation: Cloudbreak" universe. But I still have to think things carefully when it comes to that.**


	5. Searching For Smiles

**Searching For Smiles (Ninninger's Kinji & Fuuka)**

 _"Why is it that I'm searching only for smiles so much more now as compared to the past?" ~ From the Japanese song "Wagamama (Selfish)" by AAA's Nissy_

* * *

It was night time and Kinji smiled at the sight of the stars starting to glimmer in the night sky. It has been months since he left the Igasaki dojo after their battle with Kibaoni Gengetsu. He set off on his own journey to become what he proclaimed as the Last Worldwide Ninja.

But those months that passed, he noticed something quite unusual in himself. Once in a while, especially when he doesn't have any customers or when he was alone, he would look at several pictures he saved on his StarBurger over the past year that he stayed with the Igasakis. His expression would soften at the sight of the pictures with 'her' in it.

Why was that?

Kinji had been asking that question for some time now. He was glad that he had closer to Fuuka even though their initial meeting was quite an unusual one. And now that he left the dojo, he couldn't help asking himself as to why he was somehow longing to see the white ninja again.

All of a sudden, he was startled at the beeping coming from his StarBurger. Though he was glad that it snapped him out of his musings, he also couldn't help feeling irritated at the distraction. Who would call him at this hour?

He focused himself and checked on the name displayed on the screen of the StarBurger. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of Fuuka's name flashing on the screen. Okay, why was he calling her?

Kinji took a deep breath first before deciding to finally answer the call. "Hello?"

"Kinji-san? You're still awake?" Fuuka asked back on the other line. "Did I disturb you, by any chance?"

"No, Miss Fuuka. It's okay. You didn't disturb me at all," Kinji said quite frantically. He even shook his head despite knowing that Fuuka won't see it. "But what made you call me at this time of the night? If you don't mind me asking that."

No words came out for a few moments that made Kinji think he might have said something wrong. "Miss Fuuka?"

"I just… wanted to… talk to someone. I can't sleep."

There was a sudden tug in his heart that Kinji thought, something could possibly be wrong for Fuuka to be like this. "Did you have a nightmare, perhaps?"

"It's not that." He heard Fuuka sigh before she continued. "Are you okay there, Kinji-san?"

"Eh?" What was with the question, all of a sudden?

Fuuka chuckled rather nervously, something that Kinji noticed. At the moment, it hit him.

Now he knew the reason why he kept on looking at Fuuka's photos that he took before, especially the photos where she was… smiling…

He missed seeing those smiles.

That was why he wanted to look at her photos whenever he had a chance. He wanted to see them all over again.

"You don't have to worry about me here, Miss Fuuka. I am a ninja, after all." He was smiling when he said those words.

"I know that."

Long silence soon ensued. But Kinji could tell that Fuuka was still on the other line. And for some reason, he could also tell that she was contemplating. He waited for her to continue speaking since he didn't want to disturb her in some way, even though he really wanted to talk to her.

"Kinji-san, are you still there?"

Once again, he was startled. But this time, it was because of her voice. "Y-yes! I'm still here. You were saying something?"

"Not really. I just thought you already hanged up on me."

A chuckle came out of Kinji's mouth and smiled. "I don't think that's going to happen, Miss Fuuka."

"Well, I'm just checking. It's already late at night and I was thinking that maybe you're already sleepy or something like that."

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you, Miss Fuuka? You should rest properly, you know. You're still a growing lady."

"Hey! Don't treat me like a child."

This time, Kinji let out a heartfelt laugh. Come to think of it, had he done that these past months since he left the Igasaki dojo? "You know that's not the issue here."

"I'm just joking. But… thank you for talking to me, Kinji-san," Fuuka soon said. He silence that followed didn't last that long this time. "I guess I really miss having you guys here at the dojo. This place is kind of lonely now that the others have taken a different path right now."

Kinji was speechless. But it wasn't for long. "You do know that we'll return there, right? Besides, I think two years won't be that long. We'll be there before you knew it, before you could even realize that two years had already passed by."

"That's easy for you to say. But I'll hold on to that."

And so will Kinji.

He would definitely be back in two years. He would do whatever it takes to become stronger than he ever was before.

And when that time comes, he would see it again.

He would be able to see Fuuka's smiling face once again. Maybe he could use that as a motivation, right?

Kinji looked up to the night sky. For some reason, the sight of the stars somehow gave off a feeling that each twinkling stars was smiling at him.

Just as how Fuuka would smile at everyone.

But then, would it be a bad thing if he actually wished for Fuuka to smile like that at only him?

Okay, now his mind was heading somewhere else.


	6. Obstructing Us To Love

**Obstructing Us To Love (Kyuranger's Lucky & Hammie)**

" _Everything is already good, only destiny remains to obstruct us for you and me to love each other…" ~From the Thai song "Love That Can Never Become True" by_ _Bird Thongchai and Araya Hargate_

* * *

The solitary atmosphere of the park where Hammie was currently at should be helping her calm down and think properly. But that wasn't the case here. She was underneath a big tree where she decided to stay after that argument she had with Lucky a while back.

She sighed upon remembering that. But soon after, sighing didn't help her anymore. She cried hard before she knew it. That argument wasn't supposed to happen right after their battle with a Daikan of that area. But one discussion led to another and all of a sudden, she found herself already in a heated argument with Lucky that made her said something quite shocking to everyone who heard it.

" _I don't think this is going anywhere," Hammie said with a defeated sigh and started walking away._

 _Lucky frowned upon noticing that what she said had made everyone quiet. Hammie just kept walking away and was about to summon her Voyager when she felt someone grabbed her arm and turned her around. She was surprised to see Lucky sporting that serious expression on his face._

" _What do you want?" she asked in an irritated tone._

" _Is this how you're suppose to end it? You just walk away?"_

" _What do you want me to do?"_

" _Just say what you want to say, okay? We were okay a while back. And then all of a sudden, we were arguing. What's going on with you?"_

" _Nothing." Hammie tried to release her arm from Lucky's grip but it wouldn't budge. "Just let me go, okay? I'm not going to say anything anymore."_

" _What's going on with you, Hammie?" This time, Lucky couldn't hide the worry in his tone._

 _But she chose to look away instead of answering. It went on like that for a few moments before Lucky finally let her go._

" _I thought everything's okay between us," he said sadly._

" _I would really like it if there's been an 'us', Lucky," she uttered that widened her eyes when she realized what she said._

 _When Hammie looked at Lucky, he was looking at her the same way along with confusion and anticipation. Wait, did she really see that?_

 _Before the others could say anything who were just as shocked as she and Lucky were, she started sprinting away from that place with no certain destination in mind…_

Did Hammie really end up saying that?

It wasn't supposed to be the way she hoped the argument would end. Her initial plan was just to walk away in order to calm herself and return the focus she lost in her mind. But what made her say those words to Lucky? And to think that everyone heard it, as well.

How was she supposed to face Lucky now?

"Hammie…"

She stiffened upon hearing that familiar voice which also increased the rate of her heartbeat. Only that person had the ability to make her feel like that.

She remained looking down with both her hands covering her face. She didn't want Lucky of all people to see her like that.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lucky asked in a worried tone.

If Hammie would base it from the movements of his shadow that she was seeing since her fingers were slightly parted from each other, she knew that Lucky crouched down in front of her. Even if he face was covered, she still closed her eyes and looked down even further.

She remained silent, as well.

"You shouldn't have walked away like that. You haven't even heard what I was suppose to say after that," he said.

Without a doubt, it surprised her. But she remained in her position.

"What you said back there," he continued. "Was it the truth? Was the meaning that I've been thinking… really what it means?"

Hammie sniffled and slowly moved her hands from her face. Warily, she raised her head and there, she saw Lucky looking intently at her, further increasing the rate of her heartbeat. Why was he looking at her like this?

"Hammie, please… Tell me the truth about it. Tell me everything so that I'll know what to do," Lucky pleaded, which surprised her inwardly.

Why was he acting like this?

She shook her head as she stood up, looking away from Lucky once more before speaking. "I don't think that this is going to work at all even if I told you everything, Lucky."

"Then we'll make it work, Hammie. We can do that. And we'll do it together, okay?" he insisted.

"How?" she asked the moment she looked up and faced him.

Lucky frowned due to confusion. "What do you mean?"

Hammie sighed before continuing. "How are we going to work it out when I can't even guarantee that… I'll survive the next coming battle that we're going to face against the Jark Matter?"

"This isn't like you, Hammie," Lucky said instead which surprised and confused her at the same time.

She looked at Lucky with a frown. But Lucky was wearing that unusually serious face again, the one she noticed before their discussion earlier escalated to a heated argument. "Why are you looking at me like that again?"

"You know what I think, Hammie? You're avoiding it. You're avoiding the possibilities that we can created together if you did tell me the truth earlier."

"Because I know… that even though I have the courage to fight heads on in a battlefield, I'm not that courageous to fight what I'm feeling here inside me. Everything is confusing for me since this is the first time I've encountered something like this in my life." She couldn't hide the frustration in her tone as she spoke those words in front of Lucky. "I just wanted to clear my mind… away from you and the others so that… I could face you properly the next time I decide to talk to you."

No words followed after that. Hammie could only look down once again.

But much to her surprise, Lucky approached her and embraced her from behind. Her eyes widened and was about to turn around to face him but his embrace tightened along with the words he whispered which she still managed to hear.

"It's okay. Don't force yourself to think too much. It's not a race, okay?" he whispered in a gentle tone that softened Hammie's expression.

"Lucky…" she could only utter. Hesitatingly, she lifted her hand and held the ones embracing her tight at the moment.

That was the only thing she could do for now to let him know what she was afraid of.

"We'll stay like this for now. Okay?"

With a relieved smile on her face, Hammie nodded.

For now, she won't think of more than enough "what if's" that bothered her ever since she came in terms with her feelings for Lucky. Maybe this wasn't the time yet to tell him everything.

But at the very least, he would still stay for her.

Right now, that was more than enough.


	7. Let's Never Say Goodbye

**Let's Never Say Goodbye (AU Zyuohger's Yamato & Sela)**

" _When we meet again someday, let's never say goodbye…" ~From the Korean song "Wind" by Jung Seung Hwan_

* * *

There was a particular story in that hospital that many people still remembered until now. In fact, almost all people who would hear that story would become interested about it. These days, many people would say that "Forever doesn't exist". But this story had proved its legacy to those who heard it. It still proved that nothing last forever, of course.

Even so, it only proved that there's still a kind of love that exists even beyond the forces that govern one's life. The story happened about ten years ago. But up to this day, it would still have an impact to those who would hear it. This was the story of two patients of Room 2984 of the hospital's east wing.

A love story that once belonged to Yamato and Sela.

According to the story, both patients were college students. Living different lives and each were raised in two completely different worlds. Both were simple student, but each had different insights on how to live their lives. It would be impossible for them to meet, right? They were different, after all. But to tell the truth, that wasn't how it happened. In a certain twist of fate, a chance came for their paths to cross.

Sela didn't give much of a care about her life being monotonous in other people's perception. Even though her routine would consist of part-time job, school, and house, it was okay with her. It was because she knew that it won't change. It was like she was just waiting for the right time that she needed. And she was happy about that.

That is, until Yamato came to her life.

Both of them were studying at the same school. In fact, they were even classmates. But just like the usual scenario, they were unaware of each other's existence. An act of heroism was what it it took to change everything. How did that happen? In an attempt to retrieve the test paper that fell from the rooftop, Sela almost fell from there if it wasn't for Yamato pulling her up who happened to be there to unwind for a bit.

"Are you trying to kill yourself? You're still young to even think of that," Yamato rebuked to the girl.

With an annoyed expression, Sela showed the test paper she'd been trying to retrieve from the roof. "If I really had plans to kill myself, I shouldn't have bothered trying to get this test paper. And besides, I should've committed suicide a long time ago if I really wanted to disappear from the face of the earth."

It was those words that made Yamato decide to change Sela's monotonous routine of her life. Maybe it was because of the mystery that those words held for Yamato to continually approach Sela like that. He would be the one to defend her and protect her whenever someone would try to hurt her or insult her.

"Yamato, you don't have to do this. You're only putting yourself into trouble because of what you're doing just to defend me," Sela said to him once when she couldn't take it anymore.

But Yamato only smiled and then said, "I would be the one to decide whether or not I should stop following you and protecting you. But even if you push me away, I'd still think of reasons for me to stay by your side whatever happens."

Those words became the catalyst for Yamato and Sela to finally acknowledge themselves as friends. One day, Yamato invited Sela to go somewhere after her shift at her part-time job. But both of them were surprised to learn something about each other.

"You know about this place?" Sela asked Yamato in surprise when they finally reached the place.

It was a hidden location surrounded by weeping willows that had also an old but still sturdy brick bridge.

"Of course. I would always go here and rest right after our class. What about you?"

"I'd also go here. But I only do that right after my shift at work. I would let myself rest here and stare at the sky, just trying to find a reason to go on living even though it was hopeless that my fate would ever change."

Yamato looked at Sela who was, at the moment, staring at the sky. "Did you manage to find that reason?"

Sela didn't say anything. This made Yamato think that, perhaps, he might have crossed the line because of his question. But soon after, he shrugged that thought off.

"Before… I guess I could say there's none. But it was different now."

During the past few days, everything seemed to go well for both Yamato and Sela. They would regularly go to that bridge whenever they didn't have anything to do. They became closer than ever because somehow, they had each other to lean on.

But Yamato learned one day that Sela wasn't going to school anymore, and even to her part-time job. He was puzzled when he learned that. No one could even give him a proper answer that he needed. He looked all over the place for her but no Sela appeared before him.

He was about to give up when he saw her again on the bridge one day. There was one thing that Yamato immediately noticed about Sela, and it was her melancholic expression as she looked at the setting sun. His happiness soon changed to confusion and melancholy when she said goodbye and she also said that they might never see each other again. There was no clear explanation as to why Sela said that to him. She only left him there as she looked at him with a sad smile and teary eyes

But fate had a different plan for Yamato and Sela. He was able to prove it after his medical consulation at a certain hospital. He was about to leave the place when he passed by a certain room and he was surprised to see Sela in that room, unconscious and with an oxygen mask placed on her. He immediately asked a nurse passing by the area with regards to Sela's situation. That was where he discovered the truth-Sela's life already had a time limit. She already knew that for a long while now.

But even though Yamato was angry at the fact that Sela didn't tell him the truth, he already forgave her. He promised to stay beside her whatever happens. promised that they would make her remaining time worth remembering.

Eventually, Yamato told Sela one certain truth. It was possible that his life won't last long, as well, because of a cardiovascular disease he had been trying to hide all this time to almost everyone. That was where it all began once again to both of them. Everything that was happening to them in each day that passed, they would write it on their shared journal. On the upper half, Yamato would be the one to write and Sela would be on the lower half. Their writing style would sometimes interchange. For example, on the first day, Yamato would be the one to write on the upper part of the journal-meaning, he would be the first to write on it. On the next day, it would be Sela who would write on the upper half and he on the lower part. It went on like that for two months.

It also came to a point where Yamato was required to be confined in the hospital due to heart complications and he requested to stay in the room where Sela was. It was a good thing that the doctor agreed. After a month, the time that Yamato feared came-it was when Sela would finally leave him.

Sela was done writing on the journal when she finally noticed Yamato. Moments later, he approached Sela's bed and sat on the edge beside her.

"This is really getting hard for me. I still want to go to the bridge that we usually go to. Even if it's just for the last time…"

"Sela…"

"I know, I'm not allowed to do that anymore. But I really want to see that place again…" Sela continued and slowly closed her eyes, as if trying to prevent her tears from falling.

Yamato was already aware that they would both come to this point. That was why, in order not to disappoint Sela… "Sela, look at this." He took out a sketchpad from the bedside drawer and showed her an illustration. It was a watercolor painting of the bridge that they would constantly go to.

"An old painting? But why is it that… you seem to have added something here?"

Yamato nodded. "You noticed it, huh? You're right, this was an old watercolor painting. What changes did you see in this painting?"

Sela did what Yamato wanted and observed the said painting. "From what I know, there are only weeping willows that are planted on either end of the bridge. But how come in this painting, only the area of the bridge's right end have weeping willows? The flowers in this painting are all in full bloom compared to the real flowers that were on the waters beneath the bridge. That's not all. It seems like… the two people standing in the middle of the bridge were just recently placed here and drawn."

Yamato just smiled and faced Sela whose innocent eyes were looking at him, as if asking for explanation. "You're right. I only drew the weeping willows on the right side as a symbol of what I feel. You know it won't be easy for me to deal with the fact that you're going to leave me. That's why I also drew the blue flowers that looked vibrant as the weeping willow to become my symbol of you."

"Of me?"

"Yes. Blue represents hope. Whatever happens, you never lose that, Sela. Until now, I could still see that hope and strength in your eyes. I drew a man on the right side and the girl on the left who were both standing in the middle of the bridge, facing each other and both were smiling. One day, in a different time or place or maybe even in heaven, I hope we would meet each other again this way. As the sun sets today and even in the next coming days, I still wish that the hope will remain that we'll be together again whatever happens."

Though it was obvious that Sela was already suffering too much, she still forced herself to speak. "Will you stay with me… until I fall asleep?"

"Of course," Yamato replied despite having a feeling of a lump in his throat.

A few minutes later, Yamato shut his eyes tight when Sela finally rested and left him for good but he still remained by her side. He stayed with her until the doctors and nurses came.

A few weeks later, it also came to a point where Yamato's heart finally gave up. He still stayed in the same room where Sela died. He wished at the time that somehow, no one would occupy the hospital bed that Sela once used while he was still there. Their shared journal was placed beside him when he suddenly felt that there was no reason for him to stay in that world anymore.

Despite the frantic atmosphere with the doctors and nurses in that room, all Yamato did the entire time was to stare at the white ceiling. For one moment, he felt someone stayed beside him and held his hand. Along with that, it appeared that someone whispered in his ear the words, "I'll stay with you". He cried because of that. He knew the person who said those words to him.

"So you came…" Yamato whispered.

Then he recalled that he said the same words to Sela before she drifted off to sleep and finally left him. He also recalled Sela's last entry on their journal.

 _"I want to be with you again... someday... somewhere..."_

And to think she wrote that a few minutes before he said the same thing on that same day before she died. He finally closed his eyes after that with a smile, knowing that somewhere, he would really see Sela once again just as she promised.

 **x**

 **Definitely a sad fic, and the longest by far of the seven one-shots I've written. This was actually an old story that I've written a few years back (maybe two, three years back. I'm not really sure). I just revamped it a bit, especially the characters and voila!**

 **This could only mean that I would definitely be writing another fic of my OTPs, depending on what OTP would I feature again.**


	8. Has Become The End

**Has Become The End (AU Kyuranger's Stinger & Hammie)**

" _We've only lost a little, tiny bit… yet it has become the end for you and me…" ~From the Taiwanese song "Just Lose It (Hurts So Much)/We've Only Lost A Little" by Pets Tseng_

 **x**

 _It was the spring of her 21st year of living. But that year really hits her hard. Or should she say, really hits her quite hard. That beautiful spring season that's suppose to start the year right becomes a reminder of the dreadful days she have to face without him._

Despite the worry starting to clam up to her, Hammie can only glance at her watch as she waits. There's nothing she can do but to wait for him. If she leaves the place without even seeing him, it will be like breaking a promise she made.

But she has reasons to worry, after all. She can't help it. Her boyfriend Stinger is acting weird since last night. He was still the warm person she always know but a part of his actions tells her that something is wrong. Only he chose not to tell her for some reason.

And that's what frustrates Hammie until that day. She heaves a heavy sigh, hoping that it will be enough (or at least helpful) in calming her down. Yesterday, Stinger told her that he'll be meeting her at the place where he confessed his feelings for her. Now that she thinks about it, it's not even their monthsary or their anniversary yet. So it's a question as to why he wants to meet her there.

It's a good thing there's a bench right beside the big tree where they will suppose to meet. At least, it won't be tiring for her to wait while standing. She's not exactly fond of waiting while standing. Though she's wearing sneakers at the time, it's still not a good day for her to stand and wait. Not now that she's really starting to get clammy for waiting even more.

15 minutes...

Hammie can't believe it. 15 minutes have passed and no sign of Stinger anywhere. She tries touching the ground and even the tree inconspiciously despite the lack of possible witness around the area of her doing so in order for her to detect if Stinger is near. But it's no good. She glances at her watch once more.

Great! Now 25 minutes have already passed. It's not suppose to be like this but there's definitely something wrong. Not even a call or a text message from Stinger about the reason why he's late. This has never happened before. He's the most punctual person she ever met in her life.

Once more, Hammie touches the ground. It's her unique ability-to use the earth as the extension of her senses. But the limit she can sense is 1 kilometer in radius from where she's currently at. And within that 1 kilometer radius, there's no sign of Stinger.

Something is definitely wrong. She can't deny that now. No questions asked, she has to go to Stinger's house and know what exactly is going on. That guy doesn't go out often, that's why she's quite confident that he's still at home.

She's about to stand up from where she's sitting and leave the place in a hurry. But Hammie abruptly stops to her tracks as soon as she notices something flying above her.

They're planes. Paper planes. But why will these paper planes exist here? She looks around. There's no sign of anyone playing or even making these paper planes. Now that's weird. Until one thought strikes her.

Could this be... from Stinger? Now that she's looking at these paper planes just above her more clearly, it will make sense if it does belong to Stinger. His ability has something to do with manipulating papers. Maybe it's lame to some, but she'd seen first hand just how destructive those papers can be when used as a weapon-literally and figuratively.

Looking at the sky once more disrupts Hammie's flow of thoughts. Especially when she sees those paper planes smoothly landing on the bench she's sitting a while back. For some reason, staring at those piled-up paper planes makes her nervous. But what does that mean? What can those paper planes possibly hold?

Moments later, she approaches the bench and picks one of the paper planes despite her nervousness. Her heart is beating so fast that it hurts. But she has to fight it if she wants to know what lies in each of those paper planes. She unfolds the paper plan she takes from the top of the piled-up paper planes.

There's a short message in Stinger's handwriting. There's no mistake about it. And now her hands can't stop quivering as she reads the message.

 _If you're reading this, Hammie, that means you're there. Thank you... for doing this for me. And I'm sorry._

Sorry? For what?

Hammie picks up another paper plane and reads the message written on it.

 _I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. But I can't do anything about this anymore._

This is getting confusing for her. Seriously, what's going on? What are these paper planes for? Why are there so many of them? Does each has messages in them?

One by one, Hammie read each of the messages on those paper planes. Some of them talks about their journeys together even before they became the couple that they are now. Stinger seems to be reminiscing as he wrote down those messages. But there's one thing that she notices in each of the messages she read.

It's the words I'm sorry.

What are those words for? Why is he apologizing? Hammie doesn't understand that part at all. When she looks down, she sees that there's only three paper planes left to read. With a sigh, she picks another one up and unfolds it. This time, the message is a bit longer than the others.

 _I'm not meant to live longer anymore. I can't believe it. I hate it! My fate isn't suppose to be like this. I still want to spend more time with you. I want to talk to you more. I want to prove to you even more how much I love you. But this body of mind can't hold it any longer. I'm sorry if I have to leave you like this. I can't do anything to fight this at all._

Her eyes widen at those sentences. What does Stinger mean by all this? Have to leave her like this? This can't be! She takes the second to the last paper plane and read the message on it. She can't help crying as she feels her heart clenching as if a rough hand grabs it and squeezes it tight.

 _I'm really sorry, Hammie. I should've told you the truth earlier. But I'm definitely a selfish man, right? I want you all to myself and I don't want you to stay away from me. That's why I hid it. I kept the truth from you that I'm dying. I'm not going to last long. I didn't write this letter by hand anymore. I'm already too weak to do that. I let my mind do all this, convey my last thought for you here. Forgive me for lying. But I'll never say sorry that I met you and haved loved you along the way._

It ends there. But the shock it gives to Hammie is something she doesn't expect at all. Her tears fall before she can even stop it. She doesn't even have the strength to do it. She just let them fall even more. But it's not enough to let her breathe properly. Her heart feels like clenching from too much emotions she can't even grasp.

Why does this have to happen? It is all true? This has to be a joke, right? This can't be real. Please, don't let it all be too real...

But the paper plane-the last one-sitting beside her is enough as a proof. A wake up call. A harsh slap to her face.

Gathering up what is left of her energy, Hammie picks up the lone paper plane on the bench. She shuts her eyes tight as she does her best to stop her hands holding the paper plane from quivering even more. This is the last paper plane, the last message. She shouldn't stop now. Stinger needs her to understand all this.

At least, she has to try understanding no matter how hard it will obviously be. This is for Stinger, for the man she'll ever love in her life. For the man who will be leaving her anytime soon with totally crushed heart.

With no haste, she unfolds the paper plane and reads the final message.

 _Hammie, you did it! You reach the last message. You were surprised to read all of that, right? Even still, thank you so much for everything. I know I'll definitely leave you so broken. But don't stay like that for too long, okay? You know I don't like seeing you so sad. I could really beat myself for becoming the reason for you to be sad now. But everyone knows I tried really hard to fight this. They knew I did all that fighting for you. So I could live for you. So I could stay with you. Fate wouldn't let me, though. Despite all that, I want you to remember how much I love you, Hammie. I don't want to erase every memories we made from your mind. I don't even have that kind of ability. Even though I'm sure I'll leave you in pain and sorrow for keeping the truth from you, please try to live happily. At least, do it for me. This will be my final request to you._

 _Up there, this is-I think-the only prayer I made that got lost and left unanswered. I hate it. But you know what? I think that, even though my greatest prayer got lost, my heart finally found a place it would call home. I might not be there beside you in the next coming days and years. But I want you to remember that I'll watch over you for always._

 _To my beloved Hammie, to my heart's home, I'll always love you. Remember that, okay?_

Hammie can only let out a strangled wail as she grasps the paper, without any care if she'll crample it tight or not. She does it as she places that paper near her heart. As it happens, the messages that she finishes reading begins to disappear one by one. Even the one she's holding starts to slowly disappear. She can only cry harder as it happens.

It takes a few more minutes before she can compose herself even for just a little. She can't stay there. She has to see Stinger. She can't let it end like this. But once again, something stops her to her tracks.

Once again, her tears fall harder than before.

"Stinger..." is the only words she can utter at the moment, her voice full of pain. She shakes her head, thinking that this is all a dream.

But even when the cold wind blows, the vision of Stinger remains floating just a few steps in front of her.

"Please... don't do this. Don't leave me like this..." Hammie pleads in tears.

Stinger looks at his lover intently, his eyes incredibly sad. All his life, he longed to find the woman who would make him do everything to fight and live. When he found Hammie, when he began to love her and cherish her more than his life, that has become the ultimate catalyst for him to fight with all he's got.

Yet in the end, his body failed him. And now, he's bound to become a failure to Hammie's only plea.

"I'm sorry..."

Those are the words that continue to echo in the air even as Stinger slowly disappears and Hammie's pained cries resonate. She slowly loses the strength to remain standing. So now, she can only express her sorrow and disbelief as she collapses to her knees and wallow in endless tears.


	9. Can't Even Say It

**Can't Even Say It (Zyuohger's Yamato & Amu)**

" _It is sorrowful that we can't even say 'I love you'…" ~From the Chinese-Korean song "Endless Love" by Jackie Chan and Kim Hee Sun_

 **x**

"Why do you have to influence my decision to meet him? Besides, he's not that bad of a person," Amu reasoned as calmly as she could.

"That's not the issue here, Amu. I know that guy, okay? And he will only do you no good, that's why I'm saying this to you!"

Amu shook her head and turned around. "You're not going to make me stop going there."

"Amu…"

"You're saying that you care for me but why don't you let me judge the person for myself, Yamato? If you really care for me, then you'd let me do what I want until I can confirm the truth. Please, Yamato…"

He was just staring at her for a few moments before sighing heavily and started walking away from her. Of course, that surprised Amu.

"Yamato, where are you going?" she asked, her voice slightly became frantic.

Yamato stopped walking but didn't dare turn to face her. For some reason, that made her quite nervous. But why would she feel something like that?

"I'm going back since you don't want me to make sure you'll be fine. It's better that I get out of your way, right?" With that, and without a glance towards her, Yamato left that place.

What in the world did she end up doing?

It was the only question that kept resonating in Amu's mind as she watched Yamato's retreating figure from where he left her. She could only do that since she had no idea how to retract the words she just said to him earlier. Before she could even realize it, she found herself collapsing to her knees and cried.

"I'm sorry, Yamato," were the only words she could utter in between silent cries.

She knew that Yamato only cared for her welfare, that was why he said that he would accompany her to see someone she just recently met while doing some window shopping. But before she could even approach the person, Yamato warned her not to go anymore and see that person.

Their debate over their reasons with regards to that meeting soon became a full-blown argument. And before she knew it, those words were uttered.

Now, she had no idea on how to take it back and explain him the reason why she was insistent on meeting that person. But would she even dare go if Yamato might be mad at her for not listening to him?

Come to think of it, this was the first time that Yamato acted this way towards her decision to meet someone. But what could have made him become like that, anyway?

She remained in that place, crying silently.

"Are you okay, Amu?" a voice suddenly asked, making her suddenly stop crying and raised her head.

She frowned when she saw Tusk, eyeing her with concern.

She looked away from her Zyuman friend and wiped her tears as hastily as she could. "It's nothing. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Is it a bad thing to watch over my friend who was about to get into trouble?" Tusk asked back instead, causing Amu to frown because of the seriousness she detected in his voice.

She faced him again with a questioning look on her face. "What are you talking about?"

"Yamato wasn't joking when he said that the guy you were about to meet would only bring trouble to you. Sela overhead him talking to someone about having bad plans to you, given the fact that you're a Zyuman. Not all people we encounter here are like Yamato, you know."

"Are you saying that…?"

Tusk nodded gravely. "Yamato really cared for you. And he knew that guy for so long now. Well, they're not really that close but Yamato knew his personality and character. And trust me, even I would end up slashing him because of his ill plans for you."

"What kind of plans does he have for me?" Amu asked, wanting to know what kind of danger was she about to encounter if it wasn't for Yamato trying his best to warn her.

"I'll tell you everything later. I think the most important thing you have to do right now is talk to Yamato and apologize. Or else, I'll let you do more chores than usual when we still have an awkward atmosphere hovering between you two when we all get back."

Though Amu could tell that Tusk wasn't joking about what he said, it was all enough for her to smile despite her tears. She abruptly stood up and embraced Tusk before running off towards the direction that Yamato went to when he left her there.

The elephant Zyuman just sighed and shook his head, suddenly feeling tired from what had just happened. "You better fix that damage, Amu, or you'll definitely be punished."

Meanwhile, Yamato was just staring at a certain tree in the middle of the park he suddenly arrived at. He sighed and rashly scratched his head because of frustration. Why did he suddenly walk out like that from Amu?

Who was he kidding? He truly knew the reason for him to do that. It was because he was hurt that Amu won't even listen to him, won't even trust his judgment when it comes to the man she was about to see that day.

But did he really do the right thing?

"Yamato!"

He stiffened at the sound of a familiar voice. But moments later, he turned around and was surprised to see Amu running towards her.

"Amu?"

It took a while before Amu finally reached him and stopped in front of him. She had to even out her breath so she could be able to talk properly.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you suppose to go see him?"

Amu shook her head and finally faced him with a determined look. He was surprised to see that, though. What just happened to her?

"I'm sorry," Amu said almost in a whisper a few moments later.

Both of them didn't say a word after that. They just looked at each other. Yamato's face was etched with surprise and confusion while Amu has anticipation and anxiety on her face.

"I'm sorry for… being stubborn about doing this on my own."

Again, Yamato was left speechless. But as he remained staring at Amu, his mind was finally able to process everything, especially the reason why he felt hurt that made him decide to walk out. And moments later, he sighed and approached Amu even closer.

"What made you decide to apologize?" Great. Of all the questions he was going to ask…

"I just…" Amu hesitated for a while. Her hand was starting to get clammy, which only added to her nervousness but she did her best to fight it. "I don't want you to remain angry at me for not listening to you. I should've trusted you and yet…"

Wait… These weren't just the words she was supposed to say. She was supposed to explain the reason why she wanted to see the man that became the subject of their argument a while back. But can she even say it?

"It's okay…" Yamato said soon after.

Amu looked at him in confusion and tilted her head. "What do you mean 'okay'?"

"It's okay. Apology accepted. As long as you were able to see the truth, that's fine by me." Seriously, Yamato could really punch himself in the guts. That wasn't supposed to be the answer to her question. He was supposed to tell her the real reason why he walked out and why he felt hurt.

"Then… shall we go back now? I think I drained my energy doing all that arguing with you and deciding over things I shouldn't think about right now," Amu said with a slightly nervous laugh and then turned around to leave.

Yamato could only look at her walk away like that. Soon after, he gave out a melancholic sigh.

When would he be able to tell her the truth? That he was in love with her, that was why he was hurt for not trusting him.

As for Amu, the pace of her walk slowly decreased and soon after, she sighed dejectedly. Why didn't she say it? That was the opportunity she was looking for. Was it really that hard to tell him how much she… loved him?

 **x**

 **So this is the first Yamato/Amu fanfic I've written and thankfully, I decided a change of atmosphere for a while before I end up posting another sad fic. I'm not sure if it's to your liking but still, enjoy reading!**


	10. My Heart's Searing Pain

**My Heart's Searing Pain (AU Go-Onger's Sousuke & Saki)**

" _Your memories are haunting me. So why don't you just make this searing pain in my heart fade away?" ~From the Filipino song "Gisingin Ang Puso (Awaken My Heart)" by Liezel Garcia_

 **x**

The library is the only place where Saki feels she's safe. It is weird. But it seems that standing there, roaming inside, reading some books will actually help her remember something important. She lifts her left hand and looks at her wrist. The scar from _that time_ has already disappeared. But the reason why she got that scar in the first place doesn't even want to leave her mind.

"Sosuke..." Saki utters that name for who knows how many times that day. Of course, she will utter it. It's the name of her lover.

But that's a long time ago. It's been three years after the battle that took Sosuke's life. It's been that long since he used the last of his strength to erase her memories so that she will live without those painful burden in her mind. And yet, it seems that it's the exact case why she's still remembering everything. Sosuke's strength wasn't enough to do that. So now he left her as she lives in those memories.

Or maybe he did succeed. At least on one thing.

Saki can't remember Sosuke's face at all. She knows the name, his past, his family, everything about him. Both of them were some of the strongest warriors given the ability to fight and defend the world from various threats. In fact, Sosuke was Saki's childhood friend, and later on, her lover. So she really knows about him.

But the battle they participated a long time ago took him from her. Now she's here, wondering over the thought whether she's still meant to live now that Sosuke's gone.

"You should've killed me instead..." Soon after, Saki's tears that she's trying to prevent from falling streak down her face one by one. Until it all becomes unstoppable. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Those words... Even though she say them many times, especially in her dreams where she'd see him faceless, it's all useless. It will never bring him back. Even if those dreams somehow ease her longing to see him and feel him, it only escalates the pain and regret that she's feeling since he left.

It goes on like that for a few more minutes. Saki is able to muffle her pained cries with the help of her powers. Circling her at the moment is her wind powers, one that's enough to conceal her location. It's not that much since she doesn't want to give away her identity.

She's finally able to stop her tears from falling. She's able to remove the wind barrier she cast around her after looking around to make sure no one sees that. But her sight soon lands on a certain book that's all too familiar to her. She walks briskly towards the shelf where she sees it and immediately takes the book.

 _Memories That Separated Us._

From what Saki can remember, this was the title of the novel that Sosuke wrote before he participated in the battle. With a quickly beating heart that she's trying to ignore, she opens the book and begins to read it. Come to think of it, she never gets to read the original manuscript of that novel. But tears blur her sight once more because of the words written on the first page.

Her name is on it-in Sosuke's handwriting!

But why?

 _Saki, I'm sorry. This final work is something I was supposed to give to you as a wedding gift. I was really determined to marry you, you know. But the battle only made it even harder not just for the two of us but also for the rest of our kind. When you read this, you'll probably never know that it was meant for you. After all, I decided to erase every memory we created together from your mind. I can't let you live in pain because of me. I'm sorry if I did something like that to you. But I'll never let you remember me._

 _Live a life without me. Start over without me._

"I can't do that! I can't do what you want me to do!" Saki can only say in anguish.

Why does he have to decide something like this? Why does he have to do this alone? Don't they love each other? They were supposed to stay together through thick and thin. That's what they've promised when they confessed their feelings to each other.

This is unfair! He's so unfair!

"Are you okay, Miss?"

That voice makes her immediately stop crying. She slowly lifts her head, only to be greeted by the sight of a handsome young man looking at her with worries. He looks like he's truly concerned about her. She hastily wipes her tears with her free hand and forces a smile.

"I-I'm okay. I'm sorry. Did I disturb you?"

But no words come out of the man's mouth. He just looks at her intently, as if memorizing every inch of her face. At that moment, her heart starts thumping in a familiar beat. She felt something like this before. She knows that. But where? When? Did Sosuke erase that memory?

 _Sosuke..._ And it hit her! It's from Sosuke. She felt the same thing at the time she realized she was in love with Sosuke.

To her surprise, the man hands her a handkerchief. She eyes it for a few moments before fixating her gaze to the man who hands it to her.

"It may not be enough to calm you down. But I don't think my conscience will bear it if I leave you alone and still crying." The man takes her one hand and places the handkerchief there. "Do your best to stop crying. Your face looks even more beautiful when you're not crying like this."

With that, he leaves her there unable to say anything. More especially, thank him. She can't help it. It's all too sudden for her. And the thumping of her heart... The familiar feeling it gives to her...

Saki decides to put the book back where she got it. She'll have time to read it later or even in the next coming days. Right now, she needs to know everything about the guy who said those words. She needs to know his name, most of all.

But the outside of the library become a desolated place as soon as she steps out. No one's around. When she checks her wristwatch, it's nearly 6 in the evening. Aside from that, she remembers that there's a free concert and a fireworks display in the nearby park. They must have already decided to go there before the crowd completely gathers.

Though Saki knows that it will be easier this way to look for that mysterious guy with this kind of clear view, she has no idea where to look first. She can't use her wind powers to track him. She can't even remember any detail unique to that guy that should be helpful in tracking.

She helplessly looks around the area once more. It's completely desolated.

"Why am I searching for you like this? Who are you, really?"

Not far from that place, the handsome guy that gave Saki the handkerchief can only watch the woman he was trying to help a while back from a distance. He can only smile sadly at the sight of her apparently searching for something.

He doesn't know what came over to him that time to finally decide to approach her and hopefully try his best to calm her down. Though her cries can't be heard because of the wind she surrounded to herself, he knew that she was in pain.

Her face is familiar. He's sure that he knows her. Loves her, even. But the real reason why he can't fully reveal himself to her all this time he's watching her from afar is because of one crucial fact.

He can't remember her name at all.

For three years since the battle that should've taken his life if it wasn't for his own spell backfiring at him following the wind flowing in his body, he's doing his utmost best to search for answers.

Who is she? Why can't he remember her own lover's name? How come the feelings he has for her remain all this time, bearing it with devotion and pride as time goes by? And yet the fact that he can't remember a simple name becomes the wall that truly separate them.

"Sosuke! What are you doing? We're going to be late for the concert."

That voice brings him back to his senses. He watches the woman one last time and cast her a longing and melancholic gaze before turning his back and follows his friend.

His last words that night was supposed to make her forget everything about him. But that's not what happened. So now she's still here, unable to wash away every memory of him from her mind. She knows that waiting like this is futile. But at least she wants to give herself a chance to know. She wants to find out what lies ahead of her as she still searches for a future merely living in those memories that he was supposed to erase.

They are fated to love each other even after the battle. But the spell that's suppose to erase the memories they shared together works in a way that only causes them to suffer.

She's unable to remember his face.

He can't recall her name.

No matter how hard they try to remember, something always seems to block their minds from doing so. It's a truly frustrating situation for them. How long will this kind of suffering last? They don't have any idea at all. But the hope in their hearts remain. One day, if fate will truly allow it, their powers and perhaps even their destiny will bring them back together again.

 **x**

… **and another sad fic-for the third time in a row. Seriously, what's going on with me these days? Why do I keep posting these kind of fics? But then, it's been a long whilesince I last watched Go-onger so it was a bit hard for me to write this one, even though it's an AU story.**

 **And to those who would read this, I hope you enjoyed it-even though I gave you another sad feels because of this one.**


	11. Why Did It Cross?

**Why Did It Cross? (Kyuranger's Lucky & Hammie)**

" _Why did our paths cross if we will be separated?" ~From the Filipino song "Maghihintay (Will Wait)" by Gabbi Garcia and Christian Bautista_

 **X**

I was never given a chance to prove it to her. I never got the chance to tell her the truth. To be honest, it was downright frustrating that I want to pull my hair out because of it. But doing so wouldn't change anything…

Doing so would only make me feel worse…

Doing so won't bring her back to me…

Two nights ago, the girl I loved so much said goodbye. I wanted to stop her from leaving me alone but I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything to her.

No words came out of my mouth.

And worse, I didn't have the power to stop her from leaving me… from leaving this world…

If I told her the truth, even just before she left me… then would it change anything? I thought so. It would definitely change me in so many ways. I couldn't figure out how… I couldn't figure out why…

All I knew, she was gone. She left… and now here I was, alone and heartbroken… with a heart full of regrets. My mind replayed so many "what if" and "if only" scenarios that all of it just continued to crush my heart further to pieces.

I found a letter on one of her gifts to me that same night that I lost her. It was named to me and made me all curious. How come I didn't see this before?

Opening it caused my heart to beat faster. I knew I was nervous as to what could that letter possibly held. I was curious and at the same time, afraid to know what could she possibly wanted to say to me. But I chose to ignore it. I had to…

…or else I would never get to know what Hammie wanted to say to me all this time.

It was a letter written in her dainty handwriting. It belonged to her and it was given to me.

That was all that mattered…

…at least to me…

It was short, but I could feel the message that she really wanted to say to me.

But then I couldn't move after reading that. Just what in the world could this mean?

Was she talking about her love for me in this short letter? I couldn't tell at all. She was confusing me with this. Just what in the world does she want to say to me with this? She did say she loved me. Was it true?

Without me knowing it, my tears fell as my hold on the paper where it was written started to tighten. I couldn't hold it in much longer now that I knew all this.

I couldn't believe this at all…

How come I didn't know this at all? How could I have just known this now? How could I not have told her what I feel? Would I be able to hear all of this from her?

I should've told her the truth… I should've taken the risk…

But it was useless now… No way would she be able to know this. It was already too late, anyway.

 _"I'm really sorry… for not telling you the truth… I'm sorry for feeling something like this towards you…"_

Did that mean you were saying sorry for loving me, Hammie? Or you wanted to say sorry for keeping your feelings for me all this time?

 _"It's better that you don't know how much that someone had suffered. That way, you won't be able to feel the pain that the person had suffered because of it. You won't feel pity because of how that person suffered from it…"_

So you were saying that because of loving me, you suffered? And now you didn't want me to know that at all? I couldn't believe you, Sarah. How could you not tell me all this?

 ** _I love you, Lucky. But I guess you will never be able to know this while I'm still alive. Despite what will possibly happen in the future, please be strong. And please don't let this burden you._**

 ** _Please forget me. Forget me from your heart._**

 ** _That way, you'll be able to move on for good_** _._

Silly girl... How would I be able to do that now?

Now that I know you love me... as much as I love you...

Tell me, Hammie...

How would I do that?

 **X**

 **Okay. Since I created a sad fic for Stinger/Hammie, I was thinking of writing the same type of fic for Naga/Hammie and even Lucky/Hammie. Man, what's with me and sad fics these days? I wasn't able to post anything yesterday since I was tired and couldn't concentrate my mind in writing so I needed to pass that for a bit. I know that this is a short fanfic but I still hope you'll enjoy reading this.**


	12. It Won't Last

**It Won't Last (Kyuranger's Spada & Raptor)**

" _Even if I have to hide my tears with a smile, it won't last that long…" ~From the Korean song "I Can Live" by Kim Yeon Jun_

 **XXXXXX**

This wasn't normal at all. At least, Spada would like to think of it that way. Things had been a little rough for the entire team lately, especially with Naga being brainwashed and captured like that.

He had to pull himself together, at least he had to do so for everyone. Especially for Hammie who seemed to keep beating herself up and blaming herself as well for what happened. No one was at fault.

But could he really make himself believe that after all that had happened?

It was before Tsurugi's team headed out to travel time and go to the past. Spada was a part of that team. There were still a few things needed to be prepared before they set out on their journey. Lucky and the others were left in the present time to rescue Naga. He needed to remain optimistic if he wanted to let things work out the way they wanted it to.

And yet…

He put down the beater he was holding for quite a while now. What in the world was he trying to do now? He was supposed to be helping out with the preparation. But here he was, just… moping around in the kitchen.

In his special place…

"Spada…"

That call snapped him out of his musings and turned around to see who it was. But he was surprised to see Raptor entering the kitchen. Being an android that she was, there was no way he could tell what she was thinking. But if he was to base it on her movements, then…

"Raptor… What made you come here? Are the preparations done?" he asked as lightly as he could when he was okay.

But it seemed that the female android could even tell that he wasn't.

Raptor nodded slowly and continued approaching him. "All the necessary preparations are done. The commander just asked me to find you so that we could finally head out," she explained and stopped just a few feet away from Spada.

She was twiddling her fingers, one habit that he noticed she was doing when she was hesitating.

He sighed and pushed himself away from the sink and finally face Raptor fully. "Do you want to say something, Raptor?" This time, the tone on his voice was grave.

"Umm… Are you alright, Spada?" There wasn't a hint of hesitation on her voice at all when Raptor asked that. In fact, the most obvious one he noticed was worry.

He shook his head and removed his hat. "To be honest, Raptor, I don't know. Things has been a blur to me since Naga was taken by Akyanba like that. I don't even know what to think anymore."

And then Spada noticed something. Did he just blurt that out?

As for Raptor, it was quite hard for her to say anything that would comfort Spada. At that point, she couldn't help feeling how useless she was for not being able to do anything to help him at the very least. And to think Spada had done a lot to help her…

"I'm sorry…" was all she said, her tone was definitely sad.

Spada looked up and faced Raptor with a frown. "Why are you saying that?"

"I don't know what to do to help you… To make you feel better, at the very least…"

This time, he was the one who approached the android. He placed both his hands on her shoulders, which made Raptor face the chef.

"I didn't say that to make you feel this way. I just told the truth because… I felt comfortable telling everything I'm feeling at the moment. I don't even know why but… don't beat yourself up to it, okay?"

"But—"

"Besides, I'm just glad you're here to listen to that… even though I can't tell you everything right now since it all went too fast for me."

Raptor was just looking at him. He, too, remained looking at her.

"Thank you… for being here, Raptor," Spada said soon after. Before he could even stop himself, he embraced the android which earned him a yelp from her.

Yes, his actions were a bit surprising. But at the moment, he felt it was the best thing he could do.

For now, he would stay this way before they set out on an unpredictable journey. He'd worry about other things later.

 **XXXXXX**

 **I haven't fully watched Kyuranger's 26** **th** **episode because of the feels. You know what I mean, right? It's enough that Hammie was beating herself up because of what happened. So I decided to write this for now. Probably not the best and not as romantic as I'd like to turn out to be, but I still hope you'll like this.**

 **And in the end, I had to play "I Can Live" in repeat just to get through with this.**


	13. Times Like This

**Times Like This (AU Kyuranger's Naga & Hammie)**

" _Times like this, I always close my eyes and there you are, smiling…" ~From the Japanese song "Dearest" by Hamasaki Ayumi_

 **X**

It's raining even though it's summer. But for Hammie, she doesn't consider that weird. In fact, she already expects it. The sky was already showing signs that it was about to rain since that morning. Even still, she continue practicing her spikings so that she'll be ready for the volleyball tournament that the team will participate into by next week.

She's really wet and the ground is starting to become slippery but she still continues practicing. She can't stop now or she'll never be able to perfect it. Not that she actually cares about perfection, though. But things haven't been on her favor lately, especially when she's busy thinking of something else as the practice went on hours earlier.

When Hammie can finally feel her muscles aching, that's when she decides to stop. The rain keeps pouring in torrent and each drop hits her skin like bullets. It hurts, she admits that. The same way she's hurt by the fact that someone's making her do all this effort to do her best so that he'll somehow notice her.

But that's like asking for the impossible, right?

The rain keeps pouring even more but she just stays there in the middle of the court. She sits on the ground and embraces her knees. She looks up, closes her eyes and allows the raindrops to hit her tired face. She's been through a lot for that day and she's hoping that the rain can somehow calm her mind in whatever way possible.

It did calm her, but only for a few moments. Hammie's frown soon deepens as she feels someone watching her. She can't tell if that person has an ill motive for her but there's something weird about that. Before she can even create a conclusive reason in her mind, she abruptly stands up and raises her right hand with her palm facing the direction where she can sense that mysterious person.

However, she freezes to her spot as her eyes widen when she sees someone standing just a few feet away from her position. She literally can't move because of shock.

What is he doing in this place in the middle of the rain? He has an umbrella with him, of course. But still…

Okay, even though Naga is just standing there watching her, his expression is still the same as ever—emotionless. Even still, that emotionless expression isn't enough to stop her heart from beating this fast. She turns around and as inconspicously as she can, she takes a deep breath to calm herself.

Of all days she has to see him…

"You shouldn't stay in the rain for too long," she hears him say.

Undoubtedly, it gives her a surprise but she chooses not to blurt it out. Is he really talking to her?

"It's okay. I'm not going to get sick even if I stay under the rain for a few more hours," she replies without turning to face him.

No words follow after that. It does makes her a bit disappointed. This is her chance, and yet she's not saying anything that will make her talk to him more.

"Then… I guess it's okay with you if I stay here, as well," Naga says soon after.

That makes her face him this time without even bothering to hide the surprise that etches on her face. "You'll what?"

"I'll stay here. At least, I have to make sure you're not going to faint after a few hours of staying under the rain."

This guy is definitely joking now, right? Well, she can't really tell if he's still sporting that emotionless look on his face. But then, why does she have a feeling that something might have made him like this?

Hammie can only shake her head to remove some of the thoughts that are really annoying her at the moment. "Why are you doing this? You could've just leave me here and go home."

"But I didn't. Besides, I don't want to," Naga says.

This guy is giving her one surprise after another. How is that even possible?

"Why?" she can only ask that since she can't bring herself to say anymore than that.

Long silence ensues after that. Naga is just looking at her for a few moments before slowly looking away. She did the same when she feels her heart reacting even more because of his stare. What is going on?

"I'm sure you know this rain isn't an ordinary one, right?"

Hammie frowns when Naga says those words. She faces him after looking at the sky still pouring down the rain in torrents. Now that she thinks about it, the rain did dissipate the muscle pains she was feeling a while back. And then she remembers something about a particular information with regards to Naga's special ability.

"Did something happen that made you create this rain?" she ventures, not knowing what to do if she ever steps out of her boundary with that question.

Naga looks at Hammie and her heart constricts at the sight of the first emotion she ever saw in his eyes at the moment.

He was sad. A grave kind of sad.

"Does it have something to do with the battle three years ago?" she asks cautiously.

Naga nods and looks at the dark sky. "Today is his death anniversary."

"Oh."

"I can't cry for his sake whenever I remember those memories we created together. My clan already discarded emotions from themselves since the ancient times. But I can't remain like them forever. And yet, I can't bring myself to cry and feel sad when I lost him that time because of that discarded emotions."

Hammie can't find the right words to say to comfort Naga. She really doesn't know anything about this guy and yet she's doing her very best to prove herself to everyone and to gain his attention all this time since she met him.

"But that friend of mine would only be angry at me if I continue being sad for his death," Naga continues and faces Hammie, which startles her. "And the only way for me not to stay sad for long is to watch you."

She's not eating or drinking anything but her reaction is close to having a food in her throat choking her because of shock. What did he say?

"Are you joking around?"

"Hammie, you know I don't joke around. I don't do that anymore," Naga replies with that serious expression. Not emotionless, plain serious.

Her heart hammers inside her chest like crazy because of that. Warmth starts to creep up to her face and the raindrops doesn't seem to be enough to cool it down and stop it from creeping up.

"W-why are you saying this?" she can only ask, her voice showing hints of desperation and confusion.

"Because I want you to know the truth. I always notice that, even if you're tired from all the activities you did all day, you can still smile. I want you to know that your smile helps me a lot when it comes to my own troubles."

This can't be happening…

The guy who she wants to notice her has actually noticed her already without her knowing?

"Hammie, can I ask you something?"

She only nods since she's still having a hard time bringing herself to say something with all the shock she got in just a day from this guy.

"You think you can help me talk to that friend of mine next time? Even just for a while."

Seriously, how many times will Naga make her speechless? For real.

But going back to the topic, does this mean Naga knows about her ability? before she can even find an answer to that, she finds herself nodding as a response to his question.

She smiles widely when she sees his expression brightens. Still emotionless, but she can really see a certain change. Does this mean he's happy that she agreed?

"I think I can do that," she says soon after.

Then as abruptly as it came, the rain stops falling. The sun isn't shining brightly just yet, but it's enough that Naga isn't feeling sad anymore. Maybe her smile really did help him in some ways.

"Thank you, Hammie."

She just looks at Naga who's looking up to the sky at the moment. Who would've thought that the rain could make her wish come true like this? But for now, it's for the best if she just savor the moment that she's with him.

"You're welcome."

 **X**

 **I'm not sure what to say with this. But I did my best somehow. You know, let me tell you something. It's a bit hard for me to think of a Kyuranger-related story for these two, for now, especially with the 26** **th** **episode just recently aired which was focused to both of them. Naga, to be specific. So right now, I decided to post another AU Naga/Hammie fanfic. This time, it was set in a university with still a bit of a fantasy aspect. Much like the ones I wrote in "Has Become The End" and "My Heart's Searing Pain". Only this time, I didn't write a sad ending one since I need to prepare myself to write another fanfic that has that kind of ending.**

 **By the way, the battle that Hammie mentions in this story was the very same battle mentioned in the AU Sosuke/Saki fanfic I wrote ("My Heart's Searing Pain"). So I guess you could say the two stories are related to each other in some ways.**


	14. In Every Step

**In Every Step (Shinkenger's Chiaki & Kotoha)**

" _In every step of the way, I'm gonna dedicate my heart to you…" ~From the English song "Now That I Found You" by Michael Bolton_

 **XXXXXX**

Chiaki could only watch Kotoha while she played her flute that one night. He couldn't sleep for some reason so he decided to get up for a while and perhaps, talking a walk around the mansion could help him. But to his surprise, he saw Kotoha by the garden staring at the moon for a while before she decided to play her flute.

And all the while, the only thing he did was to watch her do those things. Something must have been bothering her. At least on that part, he was sure of it. But what could be bothering her that made her get up from her bed and stay outside the mansion?

Though he wanted to approach her, he couldn't find himself doing so for some reason.

It has been days since that last fight they had with the Ayakashi who took Kotoha's soul. Until now, he could still recall the hopelessness he felt because of it. Being a samurai and a Shinkenger, he knew it was a normal thing for them to deal with such situation. It wasn't a win all the time.

But that event was something that made him nearly gave up his humanity just to save her.

"Chiaki… What are you doing here?"

That voice interrupted his flow of thoughts and made him raise his head. Chiaki then saw Kotoha looking at him with such innocent and curious eyes. They might not have any meaning to her, but not for Chiaki who was currently feeling something different with just that.

Inwardly, he shrugged off the thoughts invading his mind and cleared his throat before deciding to approach Kotoha.

"I should be the one asking you that," Chiaki said as calmly as he could despite his heart reacting otherwise.

But instead of giving more thoughts to his heart's reaction, he tried his best to focus on what he thought was a more important issue. "Seriously speaking, Kotoha, what made you come out here at this time of the night?"

Kotoha remained silent even after a minute had already passed. Chiaki couldn't help thinking that perhaps he might have crossed the line by asking that question. He was thinking of something else to say to change the topic of the conversation when all of a sudden, Kotoha spoke.

"I had a bad dream."

It had stiffened Chiaki somehow and soon shifted his focus to her. He frowned at the sight of the melancholic and slightly fearful look on her face, though. Was her dream disturbing enough to make her feel like that?

"Kotoha?"

"I couldn't help crying and feeling scared when I saw all of you got killed in front of me in that dream. You all protected me, entrusting me to defeat the enemy when Tono-sama should be the one doing that since he's a part of the Shiba clan—-the very clan fated to defy the Gedoushu."

"Why are you still degrading yourself when you've done everything to prove to everyone that you're also a capable samurai? That Takeru isn't the only one who's strong among the six of us," Chiaki couldn't help blurting that out when he heard Kotoha's tone.

Upon realizing his mistake, he was ready to apologize to her but she soon spoke that made him stop.

"But is my skill enough to prevent that from happening? I know it's just a dream and the possibility of it even happening is low. But…" Kotoha's voice trailed off not long after.

Now Chiaki understood why she was letting off a dejected aura as soon as he saw her. But being a Shinkenger could increase the possibility of her dream ever happening. And yet, because of that…

"That's why you have us, right?" Chiaki said soon after that made Kotoha's focus turn to her. "We entrusted our lives to Takeru that one time and we trust Takeru to do what he could for us to remain alive until we could defeat the Gedoushu. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do what we can as well to stay alive until the end. If we do that, I think the possiblity you were fearing to happen would always remain low. If not, it will disappear completely… as long as we are there for each other."

After that, Chiaki stayed staring at Kotoha who soon returned the gesture. But this time, he didn't pay attention to his heart beating fast at the moment. He just wanted to let Kotoha know that what he told her was the truth.

"Is that enough, Kotoha?" For some reason, he asked that quite warily.

As few moments had passed that Kotoha just stared at him. It was the kind of stare that seemed to study and weigh everything he said to her. Before he knew it, the innocent yet charming smile she would usually show had appeared on her face at the moment. She nodded not long after, as if to answer his question.

That had made Chiaki smile, as well. At least, it was enough to make her feel relieved.

That's right. As long as he would be there for her, that fear would soon vanish from her heart. At that moment, he made that one firm promise.

 **XXXXXX**

… **and for the first time, I was able to write a fanfic for my first Shinkenger OTP. Sorry for taking so long to post a one-shot here. I know it's not much but I still hope you like it. I've been busy doing other things and also writing other stories that had been in pending for quite a while now, that's why it took me this long before I managed to write another SS one-shot. Besides that, I've been feeling really bummed for a while now because of some issues with regards to the manuscript I passed.**


	15. To Be By Your Side

**Kyoryuger: Ian/Yayoi (To Be By Your Side)**

 _I decided to be by your side all the way_

 _And nothing would ever change my mind about that_

 **xxxxxxx**

Failure would usually come after a series of successes. But this only happens if one would actually allow it to conquer. Well, people couldn't really predict when would failure come.

In Yayoi's case, the failure that she wasn't able to overcome was about her unsaid feelings to her admired Kiryu Daigo. But then, if she had to calculate it, it was already there-the outcome, that is.

From the start, she knew she was bound to lose.

That was just some of the thoughts running in her mind while looking out to the ocean at the moment. She decided to stay there for a while to think things through, especially now that Daigo had survived from the explosion in space after their battle with Deboss. If one would ask her, it was indeed a miracle. Nevertheless, she would expect nothing less from a man whom she'd known to have an overflowing bravery, and the person who made her realize every potential she had as a scientist and as a Kyoryuger.

"A young lady like you shouldn't be alone in this place."

That familiar voice made her stop from her musings and turned to the direction where it came from. Yayoi frowned upon seeing Ian smiling at her as he approached to her position.

"Ian-san? I thought you were with the others for the party."

"And leave a pretty lady like you to be all alone here? You know me better than that, Yayoi-chan."

Despite the confident smile she saw on Ian's face, Yayoi could feel that something was off about it.

"The party's on hold for now, since King needed to rest first," Ian continued. This time, with a serious expression on his face. "We want him fully recovered if we're expecting a wonderful party to celebrate his return."

She nodded as a sign that she understood what he meant. Besides, Ian had a point. With a sigh, she faced the ocean once again and just stared at the waves tossing. She could've smiled at the peaceful feeling it was giving her.

But at the moment, that wasn't even the case at all.

"Are you still depressed about the choice that King made?" Ian asked, disrupting the silence she was trying to enjoy once again.

She decided not to face him, since she knew her expression would already give way to the answer he needed. But soon after, she talked.

"I won't deny that. But the least I can do for them right now is to respect it. Besides, I think they make a really good couple. Daigo-san and Amy-san, that is..."

"But that doesn't hide the fact that you're still hurt by that."

This time, Yayoi faced Ian almost glaring at him but decided against it by the last minute. "If you could already see it, then stop pointing it out, will you?"

She wasn't surprised when she saw Ian soon stand in front of her, blocking her view of the sea. But she frowned when he placed his hands on her shoulders. What was this guy up to now?

"Just to let you know, I don't have any bad intentions with the way I've been pointing things out to you, okay? But I think it's for the best that you stop thinking about these things for now."

Yayoi just sighed and shook her head. How in the world could Ian say those words to her easily? It wasn't going to be easy, in case he wasn't aware of that.

"Besides," Ian continued. "It's not like King isn't going to be close to you and hang out with you anymore now that he's with Amy-chan. You're one of the people who supported the Zyuden Sentai until the end, right? And you're also a part of it. Both of you still have reasons to remain close and be friends."

She was about to say something in reply to that despite the ache that she felt in her heart when Ian said the word "friend". But the gunman beat her to it with a surprising declaration from him.

"Alright! I've decided," he said as soon as he removed his hands from her shoulders. "How about I stay with you, and not just today?"

Those words only made Yayoi frown even more. "Ian-san, if this is another of your ways to pick up girls, then don't include me in your-"

"I don't say this usually to the girls I dated even before." This time, Ian's voice was serious that made her speechless. "I'll stay with you whatever happens. And no matter what you or other people say about it, I won't ever going to leave your side. How's that?"

Okay... What in the world was going on? Why would Ian say those words to her, anyway?

It didn't take long before Ian smiled and ruffled her hair a bit, which was something new if one would ask her. But then, it was undeniable that those words had struck something in her heart for some reason she couldn't define at the moment.

Moments later, he coaxed her to leave the place since staying there would only make her think of even more things enough to depress her. Since she knew he had a point-again, she smiled before nodding.

For now, she wasn't sure if she would heed Ian's words about staying by her side. But if he would really do that, she wondered about the things that could possibly happen.

But then again, that won't even happen anytime soon. Right?

 **xxxxxx**

 **...and I'm back here! My goodness, it's been a while, huh? For those who were waiting for updates of this one-shot collection, thank you for doing so patiently. A lot of things happened and my phone's busted, to make things worst. That's why I couldn't post anything these past weeks. Not just here on Wattpad but also on my IG account (florencejoycead).**

 **So here we go, a one-shot on one of my Kyoryuger OTP's as a comeback piece. Wait... That's a bit weird coming from me. Anyway, the process of me posting one-shots from here on will be based on draw lots. Which means, the next pair is already determined. I did warn you beforehand that I would be posting multiple stories with regards to my Sentai OTP's, right?**

 **Thanks again for reading!**


	16. That Time Will Surely Come

**Kyuranger: Stinger/Hammie (That Time Will Surely Come)**

 _"The two of us will be together again. That time will surely come..." ~From the Filipino song "Maghihintay (Will Wait)" by Gabbi Garcia and Christian Bautista_

 **xxxxxx**

Waiting was something that Hammie wasn't sure if she could do for a long time. There always seemed to be a certain duration when it comes to her waiting time that would frustrate her sometimes.

In any case, it wasn't something she was quite fond of whatever she does. And yet she couldn't understsnd the reason why she was able to do it because of a certain someone.

Looking at the view of the space from the Orion's bridge was enough to calm Hammie for a while. It was something that had been helping her when she really needed to sleep but couldn't think of something to calm herself down. Of course, everyone needed it. But in her case, it was something she was deprived of.

It had been a week since Stinger and Champ set off on a journey to hunt down Scorpio. Though she was quite aware of Stinger's skills as a warrior, that didn't ease her worries at all.

A sigh escaped her lips and looked out the window of the Orion's bridge once again. As she took out her Chameleon Kyutama from her pocket and looked at it quite intently, her mind was only uttering a prayer in hopes of letting it reach her comrades currently in a dangerous journey. But more importantly, she was praying for the safety of the man that never left her mind all this time.

"You'll come back safe and alive... Right?" she uttered with a bitter chuckle soon after.

What was she thinking? It wasn't like her to be this pessimistic. And yet...

 **xxxxxx**

Somewhere on Earth, Stinger couldn't help staring at the night sky. He was fascinated by the fact that even though the planet was already under the Jark Matter's rule, it seemed that it didn't stop nature from showing its beauty that he, and even the other Kyurangers, knew was one reason why the place was something worth liberating.

The stars alone had already proved it.

Though the reason why he was staring at the night sky wasn't only because of the stars, but also because of Hammie. Taking out his Sasori Kyutama from his pocket and stared at it for a while, it seemed that he wanted to convey his thoughts for that certain woman through it.

Of course, he knew it won't be conveyed that easily just through the Kyutama. But something told him that doing so was enough. He was aware of the danger his self-imposed mission could bring to him and Champ. But he had to settle everything about his past if he wanted to move forward and continue his role as a Kyuranger, as one of the chosen saviors of the universe.

He could only achieve that if he was able to do that task. He wanted to find the closure that he needed.

For Hammie's sake, as well.

One more look at the night sky strengthened his resolve. Yes, Stinger couldn't see the Orion from there where he knew Hammie was currently staying. But the shining stars alone was his proof of that. Weird thing for him to think of, and yet it still felt right for some reason.

"I'll come back... I promise..."

And it was a promise that he firmly uttered with Hammie in his mind, most of the time.

Now that wasn't a bad thing, right? If it was for her, then he got no complaints.

 **xxxxxx**

 **There you go.**

 **Now I think this one turned out to be simpler than the other two Stinger/Hammie one-shots I wrote. Not much romance, as well. Or maybe none at all. But I'm still glad I wrote this one.**

 **Happy reading, everyone!**


	17. One Thing After Another

**Shinkenger AU: Takeru/Mako (One Thing After Another)**

 _Forgetting you will never be an option for me_

 _There's always one thing after another that will make me think of you..._

 **xxxxxx**

Though most of us knew that losing someone important was both a sad thing to experience, many of us realized the possible pain that it could bring. And for a long time since it happened, Mako was sure of one thing.

Losing Takeru was definitely not the kind of pain she wanted to feel again.

As one among the Power Casters with the ability to live longer than normal humans, Mako could only think that such ability had always been a curse for her. And that curse led her to hate every faction of Power Casters.

What Sakuma Kotaro-a talented White Ice Caster she met the other week-had said to her was true. She had already abandoned the worth of everything in her life. The Red Fire Casters' faction where she came from, the humans, the other Power Casters, and even the world itself.

It all rooted to the death of the only man she had ever loved in her long life.

With a heavy sigh, she took out a certain disc from her jacket pocket. According to Takeru who gave it to her the day he was supposed to head out to the battle years ago, the creation of HiDen Discs was something that the White Wind Casters' faction had been keeping secret for a long time. Only selected people in the faction could create such a disc.

But for some reason, she couldn't help feeling that something was off about that particular disc. The only way for her to know the truth about that was to spin it. With that, she decided to find a hidden place where she could rest for a while after a long walk around that forest and also for her to see if her guess about the HiDen Disc in her possession was right.

A few minutes later, she found a cave just a few meters ahead of the path she was traversing. It was a small one, possible for a person or two to fit into. But even from her spot, she could tell that it was a deep one. With a sigh to prepare herself, Mako began walking towards the cave. Upon looking around one more time, she noticed that the sun was beginning to set upon reaching the cave. A wistful smile appeared on her lips at the sight of it.

When was the last time she was able to appreciate nature's beauty like this? Well, that is, if she would call feeling nostalgic to be the same as appreciating the view. But that wasn't the issue around here. She turned her back on the setting sun and proceeded to enter the cave.

With a flick of a finger, she was able to conjure fire on her right hand and used it to light her way to reach the end of that cave. She surprised herself with the fact that she was traversing the place without feeling any anticipation or even fear as to what could possibly be awaiting her at the end. Once again, a memory flashed in her mind that gave her a reason why she was like that.

"Why is it that every reason I could think of would always make me think of you, Takeru?" she uttered as the tears she couldn't stop anymore began to fall one by one.

It had been several years already. And yet the pain didn't seem to have dissipated one bit. Why couldn't she do anything about it at all?

Not long after, Mako finally reached the end of the cave. There was nothing to see there, though. She soon thoughtthat not being able to feel anticipation and fear-and now disappointment or relief, as well-was the right thing, after all. But soon after, she shrugged off those thoughts so she could finally do the real reason why she went in that cave.

From the bag she was carrying all this time, she took out a certain item-another of her reminder about Takeru's tragic end. It was his Shinkenmaru with a broken blade. All that remained there was the hilt and its guard. Even so, it was enough for her to use.

Well, she was hoping that it would be.

She inserted the disc to Shinkenmaru's hilt and spun it. Moments later, the weapon's guard gave off a slightly bright glow before projecting a vision of a smiling image of Takeru that truly surprised her.

 _Does this mean...?_

But the rest of her unspoken question was only answered when the vision on the projected image began to speak. It was probably a recorded message of Takeru... for her.

"Mako, I'm sorry. I know that if you ever managed to realize the real purpose of this disc that I gave to you, you were already beating yourself because of what happened. I already know that I will not be able to survive in that battle. Not only because of the dangers of the battle but also because I couldn't hold on much longer. Joining in this battle would be like suicide to me. But I don't care. All I want is for a world for us Power Casters to live peacefully. That even though each faction have their disagreements with the other, it's still not worst enough for them to take the lives of their fellow Power Casters."

"You idiot..." Mako uttered in between chuckling and silent cries. Until the end, it seemed that Takeru believed in such ideals.

But that was one reason why she had come to love him before, right? And until now, she still loved him. She would always do, not even death woud change that for her.

"You know that I love you, right? But I'm not sure if that's enough for you to forgive me, though. And because of that, I want to apologize."

Her tears fell more and more, each were faster than the last. It seemed that every word that Takeru was saying was slowly becoming a catalyst for those tears she suppressed for a long time to finally fall.

"You're probably hating me right now, wherever you are..." Takeru's message still continued and Mako, despite the continuously falling tears, decided to keep watching and listening. "But I know I can't do anything about it. If it's already too painful for you, I think it's for the best if you should just forget it. All about the things that give you this much pain. And if I'm one of those things... Then I won't be angry if you truly choose to forget me, as well. I promise you I won't. So don't worry about anything anymore if you do that, okay?"

Mako was more than shocked to hear that kind of suggestion from Takeru, even if he was only thinking of her welfare when he said that. They were like needles that pricked her already hurting heart.

"But if you will still choose to hold on to me, to our memories, then don't use it as a reason for you to hate the world. They had nothing to do with what happened to me. Besides, it's not going to help you or any other people for that matter. You know that better than anyone, Mako. I'm sorry if I kept saying things that doesn't make sense to you somehow. But I know you'd get my point about that, right? I'm sorry for leaving you like this all of a sudden. I'm really sorry, Mako..."

After that, the beam of light that projected the recorded image of Takeru disappeared. But Mako just remained staring at the spot where it was projected for a few minutes. A little while later, she heaved a heavy sigh-a bit ragged, this time-before removing the disc from the hilt.

Why does Takeru has to be the one to apologize in the end? But still, she was glad that she was able to see all that. Hear all that. If she was still the same person a while back, she would've pretended that something like that had never happened.

And yet this was Takeru she was talking about. He was the only man that could still touch her life even though he was already dead. But it wasn't a bad thing for her.

And with that, she was sure of what to do with her life this time and she won't hesitate anymore.

"I'm sorry, Takeru..." Mako whispered as she looked at the HiDen Disc that she was holding. "But I don't think I could ever forget you. I'll still hold on to you, to us-especially to those memories we created together. Because of you, my life changed. All the while, you've been aiming to do that to the others, as well. So I think it's about time I'll do the same. At least... I want to do so for your sake..."

Soon after, Mako smiled despite the tears threatening to fall once more. At least for the man she knew she would ever love in her long life, this was the best choice she ever made.

And now it was about time she put that into action.

 **xxxxxx**

 **I think most of you will think that this one-shot doesn't make any sense somehow. But I still liked the fact that the storyline for "Operation: Cloudbreak (Kyuranger Version)" was starting to build up slowly through those one-shots I'm writing here. There are still more one-shots to come that are set in this universe, so be warned.**

 **Again, thank you for reading this one-shot collection. I really appreciate every reads, votes, and most of all, comments from you guys.**

 **Until next time, everyone!**


	18. What I Believed That Day

**Kyuranger: Naga/Hammie (What I Believed That Day)**

 _"I will never regret what I believed that day. The day of the parting is just another promise of the destiny..." ~From the song "It's Too Late" from Weiss Kreuz_

 **xxxxxx**

Naga tried his best not to show any of his worries to his friends and Kyuranger comrades as his welcome back party was going on. Of course, as expected, Spada went all out with his preparations for the food just for that.

But no matter how hard he tried, his focus would always shift right back to a certain someone that he knew he truly owe a great deal of apology. Even though Hammie said that it was okay and that she still welcomed him despite what he did, his mind couldn't really stay still.

At one point, he excused himself for a while from the others, using the excuse that he had to go to the restroom. The others didn't mind. But one person noticed something weird about it.

That person was Hammie, who soon decided to excuse herself as well, but using the reason that she forgot something in the kitchen. After leaving the bridge, she swiftly but quietly walked towards a certain place where she knew Naga would probably be at the moment. For some reason, she knew perfectly well that Naga couldn't sit still whike the others were having fun. Something was truly bothering him.

A few moments later, she finally reached the area where-as she guessed right-she knew Naga was instead of the restroom. The said silver-haired man was staring at the Voyagers docked inside of Orion's hatch from a room with glass windows. She found that a little weird, though.

When Hammie followed the direction of Naga's gaze, her heart skipped a beat when she realized that he was looking at the Chameleon Voyager. But why?

At that point, she decided to let her presence be known to him. "Naga, what are you doing here?"

Naga getting startled at that didn't escape Hammie's gaze, though. Because of that, she couldn't prevent her worries creeping up to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, a little cautiously this time.

Naga nodded and smiled that usual smile he would show to the team. But even from there, she could tell that something felt off about it. That was when she knew that something was really bothering him.

"You're still worried about what happened to you." It was a statement on her part that she should point out.

Well, she was known to be a quite blunt person, even without her realizing it. And yet it was something that Naga had to admit that he really missed about her.

Also one thing that he... liked about Hammie.

With that thought, he left the spot where he was standing at a while back and approached Hammie. This time, she was the one who got startled because of his actions. He stopped just a few feet away in front of her and just... looked at her intently.

As for Hammie, Naga's action had seriously thrown her off-guard for some reason. Not to mention, her heart was reacting a little intense this time. She tried to wait as patiently as she could to whatever Naga was trying to do now that he was standing in front of her.

But to her surprise, he bowed deeply before speaking. "I'm truly sorry for everything, Hammie."

"Eh?! W-what are you talking about?"

"I gave you too much trouble because of what happened to me. You only cared for me when you said those words and yet, I let my desire to gain emotions get the best of me. I allowed Akyanba to take advantage of it."

Hammie was speechless, without a doubt. But even if he did all this, all she could feel at the moment towards Naga's apology was nothing but relief and understanding. She couldn't help smiling at that.

"I thought I already told you that it's alright. I guess I also said too much at the time without realizing the consequences of what I said to you. I couldn't work properly at the time, you know. But in the end, I knew that I had to be strong and resolute if I wanted to fix everything. If I could make you hear me and everyone and let it reach your heart, then it's for the best." The smile on her face widened as she faced him properly. "I'm just glad right now that you're really back here with us."

Before she could even stop herself, she approached Naga and embraced him tightly, as if trying to convince herself that this was real.

That he was real.

Of course, it surprised Naga. But only for a few moments. Soon after, he ended up returning the gesture.

For now, it was enough.

Indeed, he had returned. The times that they parted might have been quite an ordeal to Hammie and the rest. But Naga believed that it also brought them closer together, not just as a team or even as friends.

But it could also be pointed out that the ordeal they had with Akyanba had only proved their importance to each other. It was something that he now fully realized.

Honestly speaking, he was glad that he knew that now.

"Thank you, Hammie," he uttered and remained embracing her like that for a few more moments.

From the looks of it, none of them seemed to mind.


	19. Memories To Keep

**Goseiger-Ninninger Crossover: Agri/Kasumi (Memories To Keep)**

 _We only have these memories for us to keep_

 _Until the day comes that we'll meet each other once again..._

 **xxxxxx**

The only thing Agri could do at the moment was to sit in one corner of that room and just stare into nothing. For once, he just wanted to savor the quiet moment he was experiencing in that place. Of course, it was a rare thing for him to do. But at the moment, it seemed that he doesn't have much of a choice.

So many thoughts had been disturbing his mind lately. Some of them were really enough to keep him up all night when he really needed the sleep.

But should he blame a certain someone for that? And no, it wasn't his sister Moune, even though he was really receiving a lot of scoldings from her lately because of his loss of focus.

It was someone else.

He stood up from the floor where he was sitting at and approached the bedside drawer of that room. His eyes softened as soon as he laid eyes on a certain female that became his companion on that certain day that she was with him. A little later, he found himself smiling.

This was getting really weird, in Agri's opinion. How could just a simple sight of Kasumi in that photograph be able to make him smile like that? If Moune would see him, she'd definitely ask him a lot of questions about that. But his sister went to visit Eri and decided to stay there for a few days or so, leaving him to tend the farm alone.

Well, he didn't mind, though. His sister needed the time off, after all. As for him...

A sigh escaped his lips and looked at the photo once again. Three months had passed since he last saw Kasumi. Their meeting wasn't something special, though. But for that young woman to use his strength as a test subject for her newly invented _karakuri_ was something he'd say as out of the ordinary, if one would truly ask him. And yet their time together-that one full day with just Momochi Kasumi as his companion-was something that never left his mind all this time.

It was something he had been asking himself since then. No answer would appear. Of course, it truly frustrated him. But something told him that the answer he desperately needed was something that only Kasumi was holding.

Seeing her again after all this time would be something close to impossible, though. He didn't know where she lived. All he knew about her was that she was a would-be scientist and that she came from a family of ninja with the ability to utilize _Shuriken Ninpou_. It would be something that he'd surely taken interest into, given the fact that he hadn't met other ninjas besides the Kakuranger and the Hurricanger. And yet...

The sound of a female's voice calling out soon caught his attention that made him immediately put the photo back in the drawer. He hurriedly went outside, thinking that it was probably Moune returning. But that thought soon disappeared when he realized that Moune's scheduled return wouldn't be until three days from now.

Could it be a guest?

"Pardon the intrusion. Is there someone here?" the female voice inquired once again.

Agri's eyes widened upon realizing something when he heard that voice again. It couldn't be, right? Was he starting to imagine things now?

He had to confirm it with his own eyes.

As swiftly (but quietly) as he could, he went outside the house. What greeted his eyes was indeed a familiar figure of a young woman that had been disturbing his mind for quite a while now. She was alone and was carrying a duffel bag as she continued looking around the area, as if looking for someone.

Taking a deep breath to calm his erratically beating heart even for just a while, he decided to show himself to her.

"You're lost, aren't you?" he started as he walked towards her.

About the same time, he saw Kasumi turned around. He had to admit, it was an amusing sight to see her getting surprised like that.

"Agri-san?!"

He smiled and nodded as a confirmation. It appeared that _that_ gesture was all that it took for Kasumi to finally approach him. And she did so quite fast, if he needed to say it.

"What are you doing here?" Kasumi asked as soon as they were only a few feet apart.

"I live here together with my sister. Anyway, shouldn't I be the one asking that to you? Don't tell me you're really lost?"

She shook her head vehemently and smiled soon after. "No, it's nothing like that. I actually came here for my research. But it seemed that the inns from the nearby towns are already fully booked. Then someone suggested that I should ask the owner or at least the caretaker of this house for me to stay here for a few days," Kasumi explained without even blinking.

Now Agri was sure that he was indeed talking to Kasumi. Soon after, her words registered in his mind. He now had an idea on who could've suggested this place to Kasumi.

"But if you live here, does that mean you know the owner of this house?"

"I am the owner of this house, Kasumi," he declared, which only made Kasumi's eyes widen. "What? You don't believe me?"

"I-it's not like that, Agri-san! I just... I didn't realize that you would be the owner while I was going here."

Now that somehow shut him up, but only for a while. He spoke once again after a few moments, since he couldn't actually take the silence between at the moment.

It wasn't that tensed, but not exactly a comfortable one, either.

"You said you're here for your research, right? Was it the same one during the last time we met?"

Kasumi shook her head. "It's a different one this time. Which reminds me..." She faced the Gosei Angel and took a few more steps towards him. "I haven't got to thank you for helping me that day. Thanks to you, I won at the science convention that I participated into."

Her words had surprised Agri in a certain degree that he didn't want to reveal to Kasumi at the moment. Not to mention that his heart wasn't exactly cooperating with him at all. What in the world was going on with him right now?

"Agri-san, are you okay?" Kasumi inquired, concern was evident in her tone.

For some reason, it was enough to wake him up from his slight trance. He nodded and straightened himself to return his composure.

"Well, if I was able to provide the help you needed that day, I'm glad. Now as for the room you needed... I think I can provide that for you."

Kasumi's expression brightened at that. "Really?"

Once again, Agri nodded and managed to show a smile before he could even stop himself. He was about to turn around and start walking so he could lead her to the room he would lend to her.

But Kasumi called out to him in a tone that, for some reason, was something placed between seriousness and... joy. Wait, was there even something like that?

"You need something?" he asked, thinking that Kasumi would probably ask him a favor or something similar.

But the next thing she said had completely threw him off-guard that he wasn't even sure if it was a dream or just a joke.

"I really wanted to see you again after I won at the convention. But I didn't know where you are. I tried to find you, but... I didn't succeed."

Agri could only look at Kasumi with wide eyes. Even though this girl had the ability to manipulate her own emotions when the situation called for it, he couldn't sense anything like that from her at the moment. Was she really telling the truth right now?

"But now, I'm glad I get to see you again, Agri-san," she declared happily and it also appeared that she was about to cry.

A clap of her hands snapped him from his musings.

"Well, then. Shall we? I think I'd like to see this place first and talk to you before I start focusing on my research," she said and grabbed his hand without a warning before dragging him into the house.

At that point, all Agri did was to smile. He wasn't sure if the heavens had given him this surprise as something he needed to ponder upon or just as a simple gift to relieve him of his endless musings about this girl.

But for now, he'd just take this chance to spend more moments with Kasumi. He'd save them all up in his mind once again so that he would have more memories to recall over and over once their paths separated again.


	20. If It's A Sad Destiny

**Zyuohger: Yamato/Sela (If It's A Sad Destiny)**

 _"Even if it's a sad destiny, I can't let you go..." ~From the Korean song "Because It's You" by SNSD's Tiffany_

 **xxxxxx**

Looking back, Sela couldn't seem to think of a reason why she was still doing a lot of reminiscing even though those events were already over. A lot of things had changed for all of them.

But most especially, the way she felt towards a certain someone had slowly changed. And now that change had fully occupied her heart long before she could even realize it.

She had to admit, she was surprised with that realization. And yet even though it gave her such a surprise, she didn't seem to mind that it was indeed changing her, as well.

"Sela-chan, we're heading out to the town. 'Want to come with us?" Amu asked with that excited look on her face.

The idea was appealing. But not to Sela at the moment. She shook her head soon after as her reply and smiled. "I think I'll stay behind for now."

Her reply was simple, and the others somehow accepted it, thinking that the shark Zyuman was just tired or wanted to be alone. But Yamato had a different feeling about that.

Well, on one part, Sela did want to be alone. But that was because she had to think things through at the moment. Even from her position, however, she could tell that her friends were worried about her if she had to base it from the conversation that ensued as soon as the others left. Being gifted with a sharp sense of hearing does that.

"Sela was definitely acting weird these days, huh?" Leo commented as the rest of them started to walk away.

"That's true. It seems that something was bothering her," Tusk soon replied.

Amu nodded and looked back to the house where they knew Sela was. As for the said shark Zyuman, she hid herself as soon as she saw Amu about to look back. She didn't want her friend to know that she was listening.

From what she could remember, the group was supposed to meet up with Misao in town. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't heard Yamato saying something at all.

Now that was weird.

Sela decided to look outside once again in order to see if her guess was right. But disappointment filled her when she saw that her friends had already left.

"It's probably just my imagination..." she whispered and started walking away from the window. Anyway, why would she be disappointed? She already decided that she would stay behind to do a lot more thinking than usual.

Though this was really unlike her, it was something that she had to do. A heavy sigh escaped her lips before turning around. But her eyes widened at the sight of Yamato entering the house.

Wait, why didn't she even hear him enter? Was she really that preoccupied to not even notice his presence at all?

"Yamato? I thought you were with the others." This was getting a little crazy, in her opinion.

Why was it that when she decided to be all alone for just one day, this guy would always seem to ruin it for her? Well, she was aware that Yamato could be a worrywart sometimes. But still...

"I can't exactly leave you here all alone, you know. Even though you asked for it..." Yamato scratched the back of his head soon after that only made her frown.

Was he starting to scold himself just now?

"I'm not sick, if you're thinking of that. I just..." Should she say it?

Probably not.

This was Yamato she was talking about. This was the real reason why she wanted to be alone and think things through. But this guy won't even give her the alone time she needed the most.

Not only mentally speaking, but also emotionally...

"We're friends, aren't we?" Yamato said that broke the silence between them.

Those words only made Sela face him, ignoring the sudden pang in her heart upon hearing the word "friend". In her guess, she won't like whatever it was that Yamato would say to her.

Then again, she probably needed to hear it since it woukd be a little hard walking in the dark with all the turmoils happening both in her mind and in her heart. Even if reality would truly hurt her, she had to accept it.

"You don't have to keep everything to yourself. We're here, you know? I'm here," Yamato continued as he took a few steps towards her.

But for some reason, she took a few steps back because of that. Wait a minute! What was going on with her? Why was she doing this?

"I-I'm sorry. I really need to be alone right now," she reasoned before finally leaving the house and headed outside to breathe some fresh air this time.

When she managed to go a little far from the area, that was when Sela exhaled a little deeply. Though she wasn't sure if she had done that to relieve herself or to remind her of her predicament, she wasn't sure. She could only smack her forehead as she reprimand herself for getting all affected like that just because of Yamato.

But at the moment, a thought struck her and slowly, she looked back to the house where she knew Yamato was. Did she really see it right? It was something she noticed when she took a few steps back as he was supposed to approach her.

Did she really see the hurt in his eyes?

Sela could only groan in frustration. Now things had gotten even more complicated and confusing to her than ever. But her situation wasn't something that could easily be fixed. At least she was aware of that.

And yet deep inside her, she wanted him to know it, to notice it. She wanted him to realize the growing feeling inside her... for Yamato. Whatever the result, even if it would bring her immense pain...

"But I think it won't happen anytime soon. Right, Yamato?" she uttered bitterly.

For now, she would hold it in her. Until the right time comes that she could tell Yamato everything with regards to her feelings, she would keep it all inside.

She would never let it go.

At least, at that point, she was sure of it.


	21. What We've Been Through

**ToQger: Hikari/Kagura (What We've Been Through)**

" _I don't care what we've both been through. Till the end, my heart belongs to you…" ~From the English song "My Heart Belongs To You" by Peabo Bryson and Jim Brickman_

 **XXXXXX**

Though rarely as he could, Hikari soon found himself smiling as he watched Kagura enjoy the food in front of her that day. Well, he just wanted the company of someone that day and for some reason, he chose to be with Kagura.

Wait a minute… Who was he kidding? Of course, he would choose her. He would always do.

Well, there was nothing wrong with that, right?

"What's wrong, Hikari? Aren't you hungry?"

That question brought him out from his musings and smiled at Kagura who was only looking at him with that innocent curiosity in her eyes. Even though ten years had passed, it seemed that Kagura's eyes would never change the way they look at people.

Or perhaps, he was the only one who noticed that.

"Just finish what you're eating. Don't mind me, okay?" he said and started enjoying himself with the ice cream sundae he ordered.

It had been weeks since their fight with the Archduke and honestly speaking, it was a refreshing feeling. It had been a long while since he was able to do that. And together with Kagura, as well.

Come to think of it, things became completely different after that. He ended up hanging out with Kagura more often than usual. Though he would always reason that he wanted some company and Kagura would be the perfect one for that, there was something else that he wanted to say to her.

Something that he wanted to let her know and was keeping in his heart for so long.

"Hikari!"

That call startled him and made him blink a few times before facing the source of it. When he looked up, he saw Kagura pouting as she remained staring at him. This time, her eyes were laced with concern and obvious worry.

"I'm sorry," was all that he could say to her.

Though it was a given that he wasn't much of a talkative person, for some reason, this girl could really make him tongue-tied. But this was something to be expected, right?

"You're really acting weird," Kagura commented but she still managed to continue eating her parfait next. Soon after, however, she placed the spoon down and faced Hikari. "Is there something bothering you, Hikari?"

That made him speechless. He even looked at Kagura who was now eyeing him with an expression that would take no for an answer. But could he really tell it to her at this time?

"It's okay if you don't want to say it now. I know you're not the talkative type when it comes to the things that worry you," she said that soon broke the silence between them.

Inwardly, her words only made him groan. Great, now he was seriously ruining it for both of them.

"Say, Hikari…" Kagura started, continuing her earlier words. Hikari shifted his focus to her once again, hoping this time, he could finally muster the courage he needed. "Was it something about the battle with the Archduke that bothers you right now?"

Hikari shook his head before he knew it, almost immediately answering Kagura's question. But that only made her frown for reasons unknown and he wanted to find out why she would do that.

"Then what is it?" she asked in a way that was really trying to coax him to answer her question truthfully.

That thought only made Hikari smile and shake his head in amusement. "You're really persistent, aren't you?"

"Well, I can't think of a way to make you tell me what bothers you. You don't usually ask me to accompany you in anything almost everyday, you know. Even when we were kids."

It was the truth. But he wasn't all that surprise with what she observed about him. In some ways, Kagura could be really perceptive when she wanted to.

"Would it be weird of me if I tell you that… I just wanted to spend time with you?" Great. Does he really have to state his point with a question? Now this was seriously hopeless, considering that he was the intellectual one in the group.

But soon after, he noticed that Kagura didn't say anything about it. When he faced her, he suddenly felt his heart skipped a beat upon seeing her almost shocked expression. Wait, did he say something bad?

"Kagura? Are you okay?"

Hikari saw her getting startled, as if waking up from a trance. She smiled at him after that, but it seemed to be a bit forced.

"I'm okay. I just… got surprised with what you said." Though said awkwardly, it was a little blunt, in his opinion. "But… it made me happy."

Now it was his turn to be shocked. His eyes widened slightly as he faced Kagura who was now smiling at him. Now, he doesn't understand what was going on.

"Even though I'm still acting childishly after all these years," Kagura continued without looking away from him. "You still stayed with me. Imagination or no imagination… You remained to be a great friend."

Well, that wasn't what he was expecting from her. But as long as he won't be able to do anything to say the words he was still keeping in his heart, nothing would happen at all. "Kagura—"

But his words were cut off with a look from Kagura that seemed to be imploring him to listen first to what she was going to say. He kept quiet and stared intently at her, letting her know that he got her message. She smiled soon after.

"But you know, Hikari… One day, something will change about us. I know it. For now, I think we should just enjoy what we have."

More than ever, Hikari wasn't able to understand Kagura's words that seemed to have been said innocently. But if he would look at it carefully, there seemed to be a depth in it. He just have to know the real meaning that those words held.

And yet, no matter how confusing Kagura could become for him, he would remain the same way for her. The truth that remained concealed in his heart would never disappear… until the time comes that he would finally utter the words to the only person whom he wanted to take care of and cherish.

He would wait… whatever it takes.

For Kagura to finally know his feelings for her.

 **XXXXXX**

 **There you go! My first ToQger fanfiction and it's about my OTP from that series. I'm happy that I was able to write this, even though my mind is still in pieces for various reasons I don't want to specify. Seriously speaking.**

 **As for the next pair, it'll be a crossover and it's about my absolute favorite crossover pairing I thought of. The next one-shot will be about Souji/Fuuka crossover pair—a Kyoryuger/Ninninger crossover. I hope you'd be able to read it as soon as I post it here.**

 **Thanks for reading, everyone! Till next time!**


	22. Hold On To Something

**Hold On To Something (Kyoryuger's Souji & Ninninger's Fuuka)**

 _Even though I know that it won't bring you back,_ _I still want to hold on to something that will make me remember you..._

 **xxxxxx**

A sigh escaped Fuuka's lips all of a sudden during her self-training. She was at the bamboo forest near the dojo since she didn't want to disturb the others with all the reminiscing she had been doing lately.

Honestly speaking, what was going on with her? Why did she have to remember it all of a sudden?

Fuuka shrugged those thoughts once more from her mind. She was training at the moment, for goodness' sake! Getting distracted would do her no good.

At least, it won't do good at the moment.

But all the hiding she was doing proved to be a little futile as the others had already noticed Fuuka zoning out once in a while. It was an unusual thing to see to the white ninja since she was always breaming with energy despite being clumsy. Even Takaharu couldn't help getting worried for his younger sister.

Yet, in the end of all that, they couldn't do anything to help Fuuka at all. It appeared that she doesn't want to talk about it. And so they let her stay silent. But that doesn't mean they won't keep watching her.

From there, perhaps they could be able to learn the truth behind Fuuka's actions.

It was evening and Fuuka was just done taking a shower so she was happy that she felt refreshed after all that training. These days, all she wanted to do was to bury herself with more schoolwork and ninja training just to distract herself. Well, it did help-at least during the day. But it all went back to the same problem whenever night time comes.

Since she knew she won't be sleeping anytime soon, Fuuka decided to go to the living room for the meantime. She was thinking of going outside to the yard at first, but decided against it when she could tell that the night would be cold and it won't do her any good.

At this point, she knew the others were asleep or at least busy with their own thing in their respective rooms. Even she was aware of them observing her ever since Kasumi noticed her zoning out once. But she couldn't help doing the same thing again and again whenever she was reminded of the event that she never mentioned to anyone at all.

It was something that happened a few years back, before she became a Ninninger.

Upon recalling that, she took out something from her pocket and looked at it with a wistful expression on her face. It was a battery-like item called Zyudenchi, as she remembered it. One that remained charged and was given to her as a protective charm a long time ago.

Until now, Fuuka was still trying to think of a reason why Souji would give it to her when in fact, that green Zyudenchi of his Zyudenryu partner Zakutor was something that he would usually use and need in his battles with the Deboss Army remnants.

But as often as the memory would appear, her mind was unable to conjure any answer at all. It was frustrating her, to be honest. And yet, at the sight of that Zyudenchi that she kept with her all these years, it was also calming her down just as fast.

"I'm doing my best to be strong now just like you and Oniichan, Souji-san," Fuuka whispered as she remained looking at the Zyudenchi on her hand. "But I really wish I could see you again, even just once."

It was something that had been truly distracting her lately, she only fully acknowledged it now. Though she knew that the Rippukan family consisted of members who were well-known sword wielders, just as the Igasaki clan was a known ninja clan (at least to those people who were aware that they were ninjas), she couldn't exactly tell if Souji would even remember her as the girl whom he had given that one Zyudenchi. She was in middle school when it happened and as she could recall, Souji was a high school student back then.

However, she would only frustrate herself more if she remained like this for long. She definitely had to do something if she wanted to make her little wish come true.

With that thought as her final resolve for the night, she decided to go to bed with a determined expression. A little while later, the other Ninningers whom Fuuka thought were asleep finally decided to come out of their respective hiding places. It took a great amount of Nintality to perform a certain Shuriken Ninpou technique so that Fuuka wouldn't notice them watching her at all.

Nagi took a deep breath, as if relieved as he sat on the floor. "I can't believe hiding from Fuuka-chan using Hide & Shield Technique would tire me out like that."

"Well, we can't let Lady Fuuka know that we have been listening and watching her all this time," Kinji said as he eyed Kasumi. "Do you have any thoughts about all that, Lady Kasumi?"

"Even though I could think of something after seeing that, I don't think we are entitled to do anything for Fuu-chan. It's something she kept from us all this time, after all," Kasumi replied and faced Takaharu this time. "Takaharu-kun?"

But Takaharu remained silent and stared at the white shuriken placed on top of the cabinet, just beside their grandfather's framed picture. Soon after, he faced the others with a smile.

"We'll just let Fuuka do what she wants. I'm sure she'd be able to say something about that once she's ready."

Yakumo smiled a bit and approached Takaharu. "Taka-nii's right, if I say so myself. Forcing Fuuka to mention anything would only make her decide not to tell the full story at all."

Though it was indeed bothering them, the truth would reveal itself in time. What the rest could do for Fuuka for now was to make sure she doesn't overwork herself just because she wanted to be distracted.

As it was happening, a certain young swordsman was still busy training inside the dojo. Souji wanted to tire himself out so that he'd be able to sleep fast.

But his actions had only caught the attention of his Kyoryuger teammates as something quite worrying, in their opinion. They knew something was bothering Souji. Though even when they asked, he wouldn't say a thing about it. It was like he decided to really keep it with him.

They knew one thing for sure, though. It had something to do with the white shuriken in Souji's possession. Ian once noticed it when he saw Souji going home from school. He was staring at it as he walked slowly. He seemed to be taking his time as he did that.

Even though it was just once, Ian concluded that the shuriken held a great deal of significance to the youngest Kyoryuger. It still does even now that Souji was already a college student. The others thought of the same thing when they also noticed Souji looking at the shuriken from time to time-albeit done secretly. When Ian investigated it, he was able to discover something big (at least in his opinion).

But for now, he thought it was for the best if he kept it to himself. Just until the day that fate would let Souji and the white ninja named Igasaki Fuuka finally crossed paths once again.

Souji let out a tired sigh as soon as he was done training. Things hadn't been quite good to him lately so he wanted to calm himself down and distract himself with more training. There might be still remnants of the Deboss Army that they didn't know just yet and could cause harm-despite not being done often, but it doesn't mean that he should let his guard down. Other monsters and evil creatures were being born to do no good to everyone trying to live peacefully in this time.

As a warrior, he made it his duty to protect those people. Soon after, however, remembering that resolve had also made him remember the owner of the white shuriken in his possession. He took it out from his pocket and smiled as soon as he looked at it. Who would've thought that he'd think of taking one of the white shurikens thrown towards a Yokai that the Ninningers were dealing with that one time?

He was able to do so when he saw the Yokai had struck some of those shurikens and were thrown to the ground. At first, he didn't think of the significance of that shuriken to him. Not until he saw the Ninningers disabled their transformations and finally saw the identity of the white ninja.

"Igasaki Fuuka..." Souji uttered the name of the white shuriken's owner before sighing upon recalling the first time he had ever met her.

Does she still have the Zyudenchi he gave to her before? No one would be able to answer that question for him, not until he decided to go face Fuuka again. But could he really do that now? It has been a long while since their first and last encounter.

"I wonder how you're doing now," he whispered and stared at the full moon from the window of the dojo.

Doing so had only made him smile wistfully before putting the shuriken back in his pocket.

For now, perhaps it wasn't still the right time for them to meet again. But if Fuuka was still keeping the Zyudenchi he gave to her as a protective charm that day he saved her, then it would become the answer he was looking for in a long time.

He would know that answer once he'd be able to encounter her again.

 **xxxxxx**

 **For one thing, I think I left a cliffhanger here. I don't know. I just thought of it that way. So for now, this is how I should end this. The possible continuation of this one-shot (as I'd like to call it) would be written in another Souji/Fuuka crossover one-shot for this season. I was able to form this pair when I was still posting picture edits on my Instagram account (florencejoycead) but a while later, ideas after ideas began forming in my mind for them. If I have to count it all, I already created 70 Souji/Fuuka crossover picture edits. You'll see them all be posted here on Wattpad and Twitter (for now).**

 **Till the next story, everyone!**


	23. Remain In My Heart

**Kyoryuger: Ian/Yayoi (Remain In My Heart)**

 _I never ask for anything from you since then_

 _But please do this one request from me_

 _Do what you can to live and return here_

 _Just as how I want your memories to remain in my heart…_

 **XXXXXX**

For once, Yayoi had truly wanted to stop worrying over everything. Well, not exactly everything about her job in the lab and her duty as a Kyoryuger or even the world. The "everything" she was referring to pertained to a certain person.

But then, she couldn't help it, right?

The one she was constantly thinking about these days was a dinosaur warrior—a fellow Kyoryuger. And just recently, he nearly died because of their battle with Devius. Things couldn't get worse for the team. But it was a good thing they still got through it in the end.

For one thing, it was something she was truly grateful about… at least for now.

But what about in the next? She wasn't sure if there were still remnants of the Deboss Army just lurking and planning to destroy the world again. Or other monsters and evil creatures planning their way to do the same.

She shouldn't be feeling pessimistic but the worry doesn't want to leave her. It was distracting her these days that even her grandfather noticed. But she insisted that it was nothing and if there was, she won't let it destroy her focus in doing her job.

However, she could tell now that she was just all talk. Unable to concentrate on continuing to do anything right, she decided to go out for a while and walk around.

It had been weeks since their battle with Devius and things proceeded smoothly after and peacefully to most of them. Of course, Yayoi was glad about that. And yet—

A beeping from her buckler interrupted her musings. When she checked it out, she was confused to see Ian's name flashing on the screen. What could've made him call her at this time? Thinking that he would only invite her over for coffee or tea as he had done a lot of times before, she decided not to answer it. For now, she preferred to be alone and doesn't want anyone to disturb her.

But the beeping didn't stop and it was from the same person. Her frown deepened when she realized something. Could there be some sort of trouble again? With worry filling her at the moment, she finally decided to answer the call.

"Hello? Is there something wrong, Ian-san?" She didn't care if her voice was laced with concern when she asked that.

Soon after, she realized that it was a mistake. She didn't want to get laughed at because of that.

"I should be the one asking you that, Yayoi-chan."

Once again, she frowned. This time, because of his words. "What do you mean?"

"You don't have to play innocent, you know. Is there something wrong? You're really acting weird since the recent battle."

So he noticed? But why would he even do that? "Even if I tell you, Ian-san, I don't think you'll understand." Or it should be something she had to say to herself.

No matter how many times she asked herself, things didn't see to get any clearer for her. Or was it?

"Oh my! Really, now? Now I'm definitely sure that something's wrong with you."

She silently scolded herself for that. How could she have forgotten that this guy was just as observant as she was?

Heaving a sigh was all she did to calm herself down. "I think I should hang up now, Ian-san." Before she could even give him a chance to say anything, she ended the call. "I'm sorry, Ian-san. But I don't think I could really say it to you."

It was similar towards her affection for Daigo before. But this time, the fear intensified given the fact that Ian was popular with women. Or at least he wanted to put it that way. She couldn't help smiling at the thought.

But that smile soon disappeared when she remembered the words that she truly wanted to say to Ian.

Or most likely, a wish. A favor to ask.

It was something she did before, when she pleaded Plezuon to accept her Brave to save Daigo and the rest from Deboss. She never got to say that or mention that to anyone, though.

And now…

Yayoi looked at the clear blue sky with a wistful expression on her face. If she would be given a chance to wish for something at the moment, she'd only ask for one.

She just wanted the person who was now giving her the courage to work hard and move on to remain safe and to let him return alive whatever happens. It was probably a little thing to ask. But his safety was worth more than her life.

It was something she realized after hearing from the Rainbow Line's Conductor and even from Candelira and Luckyuro about the Kyoryugers getting beaten and unable to fight because of Devius' attack to them. She never thought she would feel that kind of fear in her life again.

"But is that too much for me to say to you, Ian-san?"

At the moment, it did seem like that. Of course, it only made things hopeless for her.

"What should I do?"

 **XXXXXX**

Ian was right. There was something that was indeed bothering Yayoi. He couldn't ignore that fact now.

And yet he couldn't take a step at the moment to approach her.

Yes, he was only standing underneath a big tree a few meters from where Yayoi was standing at and was now looking at the sky wistfully. He couldn't help wondering as to what could've made her like that.

These past days, it also seemed that she wasn't in the mood to deal with his playful antics. He could've passed it off easily if he knew that it was related to the lab. But according to Dr. Ulshade, it doesn't seem like it at all.

"How am I supposed to help you, Yayoi-chan?"

For now, it seemed that both of them had such unanswerable questions. Unless, of course, one or both of them would do something to find the answer they needed, things would remain hazy for them.


	24. Just Because We Can't

_Should we let this be the way things are supposed to end_

 _Just because we can't even blame the heavens for doing this to us?_

 **xxxxxx**

It all felt like a curse.

At least that was how Hammie was thinking it now that she was standing in the middle of the now deadly silent battlefield. How did it all end up to this? It wasn't supposed to be like this.

She could only shake her head vehemently, hoping that doing so would let her wake up. This was just a bad dream, right? Things weren't supposed to end this way. Not with everyone getting killed in front of her.

But reality was searing fast in her mind. No matter how much she denied the view laid out in front of her, it won't disappear. But she knew it, tears blurred her sight as it fell one after another quite fast. She couldn't hear anything other than her heart slowly shattering because of all this.

"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..." were the words Hammie could only utter along with her pained cries. Her knees soon gave in that made her collapse to the ground and continued crying.

It was all too much for her. The regret was dominantly creeping up in her for one big reason. Upon remembering that, she looked at a certain direction where she knew the person that made her feel this much regret was now lying there lifeless. The sight of it caused her to feel as if a hand was clenching her heart tight-too tight that seemed to be preventing her to breathe properly.

But it also seemed to be enough to give her the slight energy to drag herself and head towards that person she couldn't stop looking at even though he was already dead. Even from her position, she could already tell that.

A few more steps later, she reached the place and soon collapsed to her knees the moment she placed her hand on his chest. No heartbeat-at all. Her tears fell faster than before because of that realization.

He was dead.

Ian was dead.

 **xxxxxx**

Ian was running towards the direction of an empty warehouse where he knew Hammie was. He shouldn't have left her that time. He was regretting it now.

At the thought of the reason why he was feeling this way, his blood boiled in anger as he was thinking that if that monster did something to Hammie, he would definitely kill it. No matter what, he would save Hammie.

Even if he had to risk his life for it.

He finally reached the area where he could sense the evil aura of the monster. But before he could even take a single step to get inside the warehouse, his eyes widened at the sight of Hammie lying on the floor. Though she appeared to be unconscious, she also seemed to be having nightmares. As soon as he saw that, he approached her and cradled her to his arms.

"So you're finally made it here."

Ian didn't have to look to know who it was. He clenched his hand tight as he took the Kyu Rapier that was just beside Hammie. He wasn't much of a rapierist or any blade wielder for that matter. But this monster was hurting Hammie this much with the nightmares she was having and he won't forgive anyone who would do that to her. It didn't take long for him to stand up and decide on what to do.

But before he could leave his spot as soon as he let Hammie lie down to the ground again, he heard her mutter his name. He froze to his tracks but didn't look at her at the moment. Even in her nightmares, he couldn't believe he was still calling out to him. However, the words that truly froze him was something she uttered next in her nightmare-filled sleep.

"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..."

Why was she apologizing? If it had something to do with what they fought about the other day, he should be the one doing that. He was the one at fault, after all.

And yet, at the end of that, her words appeared to have given him the strength he needed to deal with this monster. He swore to make it pay for doing this to Hammie.

 **xxxxxx**

Hammie opened her eyes upon feeling a warm ray of light touching her face. When she looked around, she found herself lying on a king-sized bed and everything around her was colored white. The pillows, the comforter, the bed sheet-even the curtains.

As she was looking around the room, she recalled the battle that killed Ian. Her eyes widened at the thought and immediately got out of bed to know if it was true. Come to think of it, how did she get to this place, anyway?

But before she could even hold the doorknob, she saw it turning and soon after, the door opened. Her eyes widened at the sight of that handsome man whom she remembered was someone who died in front of her in order to protect her. It was his retribution to the mistake he did to her, he said.

"Ian..." She wanted to utter that name just to make sure she wasn't dreaming or anything.

"You're awake. Thank goodness," Ian said in relief. "I thought it would take you one more day before you wake up."

"What... happened? We fought that day, right? And then I saw you fighting that monster-"

But Ian reached out to her hand and gently pulled her closer to him. Before she knew it, she was crying as soon as she felt his warmth because of his embrace. That was when she realized that she wasn't dreaming.

He was real... and alive.

Soon after, Hammie returned his embrace even tighter, as if afraid of letting him go. Ian chuckled but didn't complain about that and just let her embrace him that way.

"You don't have to worry about anything anymore, okay? We might have been fighting and arguing about other things. But don't ever think that I would leave you alone to deal things on your own. I just want you to remember that, okay?"

Hammie nodded and remained embracing him like that.

They could talk about the thing that they were fighting before some other day. They still have time for that, after all. For now, it was for the best if they relished the moment they had right now.

It wasn't the end for both of them.

That was what Hammie had to remember now.

 **xxxxxx**

 **Yes, another crossover and I don't know what came over me when I decided to create this** _ **really**_ **unusual crossover pair. I think I really liked Kyoryuger that much for me to think of crossover pairs with some of the Kyoryugers involved in it. And now I have to add Kyuranger to my list of SS favorites. I mean, seriously, each of the two series exist in two completely different universe and it was already proven. If you've watched the 18th episode of Kyuranger, then you'll know what I'm talking about. But Super Sentai created a lot of possibilities for two universe to mingle in some ways. So I guess I'm just doing something like that. Or maybe not.**

 **Anyway, I'm not sure if what I've written here made any sense. In any case, thank you so much for reading the story.**

 **Till next time, everyone!**


	25. Unable To Do Anything

**[EX 2] Go-Onger AU: Sousuke/Miu (Unable To Do Anything)**

 **SEASON 1, BONUS ONE-SHOT FANFIC # 2**

 _Fate has always been heartless for us_

 _So now we just stand here and watch_

 _Unable to do anything to even defy it..._

 **xxxxxx**

I never thought I would come to this point in my life.

The point where I had to choose between him and the path I chose to take when I was a teenager.

But I guess it was something expected, right?

Life would always lay out several paths for us to choose.

At the end of that path, we were forced to make several more choices with regards to our lives.

I ended up doing that… especially when I chose to leave him, thinking that it was the right thing for me to do.

"Miu, are you coming with us? We're going to have lunch at the canteen."

I shook my head and smiled when a co-worker entered my office and said that.

Right now, I was thinking that I won't be able to bear other people's company when I needed to do more thinking than usual because of that memory.

It had been two weeks since then.

Not much had changed.

Or at least I'd like to think of it that way.

When the room was quiet again, I sighed heavily.

I had been doing a lot of that lately that I didn't know how should I stop myself.

Or should I really?

The ringing from my phone startled me from my musings.

I frowned since I wasn't expecting phone calls from anyone.

But it would be different if it was from my parents or any of my relatives.

As I let out another sigh, I walked to the table where my phone was placed.

However, what I saw on the screen froze me to the spot somehow.

Was I seeing this right?

"Sousuke…"

His name flashed on the screen of my phone.

He was the one calling me.

But why?

It took me a while to decide whether or not I should answer this phone call.

I thought the surprise I felt also froze my brain that made me refuse to think properly.

It was still ringing.

Any time now, it would be over.

What should I do?

 **XXXXXX**

In the end, I just let my phone stop ringing without answering that phone call.

Sousuke and I didn't have anything to talk about, anyway so it was better like this.

Besides, if I answer his phone call, it was like breaking the promise that I made to myself when I decided to leave him.

I needed to stand firm to my decision even though I knew it would hurt.

I averted my gaze from my phone and looked outside the window.

Even though it was noontime, the sky was a bit dark.

It looked like it was going to rain again.

I was startled when I heared my phone rang again.

I slowly looked at the screen for me to know the identity of the caller.

To my confusion, it was my cousin Renn who was calling.

But why would he call me right now?

Did something happen?

I took my cellphone and answered the call from Renn before the ringing ended.

"Hello? Renn?"

"You're really going to stand firm with that hardheadedness of yours, is that it?"

I frowned because of what my cousin started saying to me.

What could possibly be the problem again and this was how he greeted me?

"You really don't have any plans of answering Sousuke's call for you?"

I was confused with what he said. What was he saying?

And how did he know that Sousuke was calling me?

"Don't leave him hanging, Miu. Everything between the two of you isn't suppose to end this way."

I couldn't say anything as a response to that.

But I already had a decision that I should stand firm to and Renn knew the reason why I needed to leave Sousuke that day.

"We were only given one chance to meet and be with the person whom we'll truly love, Miu. From what I can see, you've already met that person. It would be a big mistake if you let that person go without even explaining him the real reason why you did that."

I couldn't think of what to say as a response to my cousin's words.

More than anyone in my family, Renn was one of the few who could truly be helpful to me when it comes to these things.

But did I really have to break the promise I made to myself for my own happiness?

Did I even have the right to do that if I was destined to remain alone for the coming days of my life?

"I'll think about it," was my only reply before I ended that call.

 **XXXXXX**

With a sigh, I walked out of the office building and decided to walk around for a bit.

It has been a long time since I did that due to my hectic work schedule.

Not to mention that I wanted to focus on doing my work more intensely than usual because I wanted to take my mind off of those things that truly worried me.

Now that I thought about it, when was the last time I stopped talking about "what if's"?

To be honest, it felt like it was a far-off memory to me now.

Going back, my mind couldn't stop replaying the conversation I had with my cousin a while back.

He was right.

I knew from the start that he was.

I knew I had found the one for me.

I already did and my heart agreed with me.

But I couldn't tell him the reason why I had to let go of it.

Believe me, it was a painstakingly hard thing for me to do.

Don't ask me why I had to describe it like that.

I just had to, because it was the truth.

I couldn't afford to lose the one who made me feel what it was like to truly love someone.

When I raised my head, I was surprised to see myself standing in the middle of the park where the water fountain was.

The same fountain where I had that vision and where I chose to end things between me and Sousuke.

Another sigh came out of my mouth as I took out my cellphone.

I looked for a specific folder of pictures in the Gallery and there I saw the one I needed to look into again.

There were only five pictures in that particular file folder.

But each photo held the story behind the vision I was talking about.

Not many people knew, but I was born with the ability to predict certain events that could possibly happen in the future if nothing was done to prevent it.

And my means of doing so was with the help of cameras I held.

More commonly, cameras from cellphones and tablets.

My hands had the power to give those cameras I hold like that the ability to determine future events.

In the pictures from that Gallery's folder, they held the story… of Sousuke's death.

Because of me.

 **XXXXXX**

Now that I reached home, I was thinking of resting early since I had nothing much to do other than to watch television or to continue reading the novel I had been meaning to read for weeks.

But in the end, I never got to do any of it.

I was only staring at the photo of the park's fountain that was saved on my phone, which was the first among the five photos on that file folder of the Gallery.

As I looked further, there was nothing wrong with that photo, honestly speaking.

But then I realized the day I first saw them that it held a certain vision for me to see when the second photo appeared.

Sousuke was standing there, just beside the fountain and he was smiling.

The weird thing was—Sousuke wasn't with me when I went to that park and took a photo of the fountain that particular day.

I smiled wistfully upon seeing Sousuke's smile on that second photo.

He really looked happy… and truly in love.

But perhaps that wasn't the case now that I chose to leave him and forget everything between us, even though the last part seemed a bit impossible for me to do.

Forgetting someone who had captured my heart like that was something that I could never do no matter how hard I try.

I knew that all along, even during those times I chose to leave the man I love behind.

I swiped on the screen of my phone to the left to reveal the third picture.

This was where I started feeling something ominous about Sousuke's life since he was looking on a different direction with a frown, as if trying to verify if what he saw was real.

I swiped again that soon revealed the fourth photo where a man wearing a hooded jacket was seen aside from Sousuke who was now looking at the man in question with wide eyes.

If one would look at it rather quickly, the two men were just standing in front of each other with a distance of perhaps only a few inches.

But I immediately knew something was wrong with what was happening in the photo because of the thing that was in between Sousuke and the hooded man.

It was a knife—plunged right into Sousuke's stomach!

I only noticed it a bit late that I was already gripping my phone tight because of that photo.

When I calmed down after a few moments, I swiped my finger on the screen of my phone to reveal the final photo.

It was still on the fountain, but the focus was now on Sousuke who was lying on the ground looking lifeless and appeared to be bleeding profusely.

Beside his body were words written in blood—perhaps by the perpetrator.

' _This is all your fault!'_

 **XXXXXX**

Everything went downhill for me after I saw that on my phone, saved in its Gallery.

I was only appreciating the view of the fountain by the sunset when I decided to take a photo of it that day.

But I never realized that my powers would manifest that way.

And to think I would even see Sousuke's possible death.

There was no date on the photo as to when it could possibly happen.

But one thing was for sure—it would happen in sunset and by the park's fountain.

Usually, my ability to predict could determine possible events that would happen from the time I took the photo to about a month.

That was the only time limit that my prediction could discern.

Three weeks had passed since I took the photo and a week had gone by since I left Sousuke.

It was the fifth and final photo that made me decide to do the latter.

I knew from there that the message was left for me.

And it wasn't about my family or the clan that I belonged to—at least I was sure about that part.

When I asked a friend of mine who was working as a police, Gunpei, to do a little investigation for me, it turned out that the man I suspected right from the start had escaped from prison.

That same man was responsible for killing my older brother two years ago.

It was the same time the built-up charge from my powers took a turn for the worst, when the energy saved up from my body became a nearly fatal weapon I used to attack that person.

I never revealed myself as the one who made him face near death, but I did what I could until the end to make sure that man was apprehended for killing my brother.

And now he got out of the prison.

My only way to protect Sousuke from that man was to let him stay away from me.

That jerk must not know Sousuke's connection to me at all.

The only was for me to do that was to end everything between us.

But up until now, everything around me seemed to be persistent in reminding me that what I did was wrong.

That there had to be another way for me to protect the man I love other than leaving him like that.

Now how was I supposed to retort to that?

 **XXXXXX**

Three days had passed faster than I thought.

But things seemed to get even gloomier than I could ever realize and now I couldn't think of what to do to get away from this depressing mood.

I didn't have any work today but I also didn't feel like staying at home all day.

That would only make me think of unnecessary and even worrisome things more than usual.

Going out was my only option.

I was about to take a step outside the house when my phone rang.

I frowned.

Who would call me at this time?

When I checked the number flashing on the screen, it didn't take me long to know who it was.

I memorized that number by heart and it was still there even though I erased it from my list of contacts.

I decided not to answer the call coming from him before.

Should I do the same thing again?

With a sigh to calm my erratically beating heart, I reached out to my phone and answered it.

Whatever it was that he wanted to say to me, I thought it was for the best if I should hear it.

But my hand was quivering for some reason.

How was I supposed to stop this?

I had to answer this phone call.

"Hello?" I started.

"Miu… Is that you?"

I took a deep breath once again before replying.

"Yes, it's me. Sousuke?"

I asked that even though I heard from the voice that he was indeed Sousuke.

But I still wanted to confirm it.

I didn't want to make a mistake just because it was what I wanted to happen, because that was what my heart was wishing for.

"It's me. Did I disturb you?"

"N-not really. W-why did you call, by the way?"

I heard Sousuke take a deep breath from the other line before answering my question.

"I miss you. Even though you left me that day."

I couldn't stop my tears from falling when I heard that.

It was like Sousuke's voice seemed cracked when he said that.

That was why I knew I wasn't the only one who was suffering from my decision that day.

"Sousuke…"

"I want to talk to you, please. To the place where we'd usually go whenever we'd have our date. Let's meet there."

I couldn't say anything to respond to that since I never expected that.

I placed a hand on my chest thinking that, doing so would make me calm my erratically beating heart.

"But I won't force you if you don't really want to see me. If ever you agreed, just tell me. I'll text you the day and the time when we'll meet."

I remained silent while Sousuke was talking.

I couldn't really think of anything to say even when he ended the phone call.

I placed my cellphone to my chest and held it tight.

My heart won't stop beating fast even though some time had passed since Sousuke's phone call ended.

Perhaps it was for the best if I should think this through… if that was the only way for me to finally have some peace.

 **XXXXXX**

I was tapping my foot too fast as I was sitting on a bench.

I chuckled amusingly as I looked at the time on my wristwatch.

The agreed time was supposed to be at 3 in the afternoon.

And yet here I was, reaching the place at exactly one in the afternoon.

"I'm too early," was all I could say before looking around.

I shouldn't be acting like this, but for some reason, I couldn't really help it.

I contradicted my decision with what I was doing right at the moment.

But perhaps this only proved that he still mattered to me.

I wanted to hear him out, so now I was here.

Despite my excitement, my hands began to feel clammy all of a sudden.

It was wrong, but I couldn't help thinking that something might happen today.

And no, it wasn't just because of the conversation that could ensue between me and Sousuke.

Does this had something to do with my vision?

I hoped it wasn't the case.

I took deep breaths for a few times, hoping that they could help me calm down.

I clenched my fists as I did so before releasing it.

"Miu…"

That voice brought me back to reality and made me open my eyes all of a sudden. I couldn't help gaping at the sight of Sousuke standing in front of me and now looking at me in surprise.

Wait…

Why would he look at me like that?

But I couldn't bring myself to do the same as I looked at that smile.

It was laced with sadness that I knew I brought to him.

When his words finally registered in my mind, I nodded.

"I got nothing else to do, that's why."

Well, partly it was true.

But heck!

I would never tell him that I was also excited to see him.

I guessed this only proved that I missed him so much, huh?

As if trying to sense the situation first, Sousuke soon sat on the same bench that I was sitting at carefully.

Why was this guy acting as if I was going to eat him or something?

But I guess I should blame it to the awkwardness that ensued as soon as we saw each other.

No amount of excitement (whether I admit it or not) could dissipate the awkward feeling that surrounded us.

Besides, it wasn't the same as it was before between the two of us.

"I'm glad you came," Sousuke said that broke the tensed and awkward silence between us.

"Like I told you, I got nothing better to do. And… I think I do owe you an explanation."

I felt Sousuke face me but I remained looking down as I clasped my hands together.

They did feel clammy but I needed to do everything to calm down.

"You don't need to do that. Your cousin already explained the situation to me."

Those words made me face him in surprise.

There wasn't any indication at all that he was joking or at least bluffing just to get my attention.

At least I could tell that much.

"Then…"

"I was with Renn when I tried to call you that day but you didn't answer it. That's how he knew I was calling you. When you didn't contact me after he scolded you and you even said that you'd think about it, he said the possible reason why you left me all of a sudden."

I was speechless, but I remained facing him.

My heart was beating loudly at the moment with just that.

But I knew this was meant to happen, and only meant to indicate one thing.

Sousuke was still someone I could never let go whatever I do.

He remained to be the only one in my heart.

This had never happened before with my previous relationships.

I was able to recover rather quickly after a break-up.

But with Sousuke…

Everything was different.

I became like that since our paths crossed a year ago.

"Then… even though you know the reason why I left you that day, you still… want to see me?" I ventured.

I didn't want to keep my hopes up that I wasn't the only one who felt that way, which was why I asked that.

My eyes widened when he nodded.

"It didn't diminish my love for you one bit. You have to believe me."

Again, his words left me speechless.

Before I knew it, my tears from so much emotions pent-up inside of me began to fall incessantly.

I couldn't make them stop.

I scolded myself since I shouldn't be acting like this but I couldn't help it.

Everything was still sudden to me.

"Besides..." Sousuke continued.

I remained silent and just let him talk.

"What you've predicted to happen to me... That wasn't your fault at all."

Wasn't my fault?

Wait!

Did he just say that in past tense?

I looked up and faced Sousuke. It only answered my suspicion with a firm nod.

Did that mean...?

"It nearly happened, but I was able to prevent it thanks to an early warning from the police."

"I-I don't understand."

And it was the truth.

"I had a cousin who was working as a police officer and he was stationed where that jerk who tried to kill me was jailed. When the jailbreak happened, my cousin gave me an immediate call that the man would possibly come after me. You see, I was one of the reason why he was arrested. And I also secretly provided the crucial evidences needed to put him in prison and sentenced him to life imprisonment. That's why... you don't have to put yourself through this. Don't pit everything we've worked hard for to nothing. Okay? I'm still here despite what I learned about you and your ability. And I still love you whatever it takes."

That was it.

That was all it took for me to break down.

Before I knew it, I found myself throwing myself to him.

And he was there.

He welcomed me with open arms.

We embraced each other tightly, as if afraid that we would both disappear if we let go.

But that wasn't going to happen anymore, right?

"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..." I said in tears as I held him tighter.

It seemed that I was right in letting him remain in my heart in spite of my decision to leave him that day.

In the end, he still decided to be with me.

Not many people had the same luck as I had.

And for that, I would be forever thankful to whatever force that brought us together that one time and even today.

Whether it was love, fate, or destiny, it doesn't matter now.

"Don't leave me again like that, okay?"

I could only nod since I was still emotional from all that had happened between us.

But that nod also held my promise to the man I love.

"I love you, Sousuke... And I'm sorry..."

"Miu, enough with the apologies, okay? I love you too much for me to remain angry at you. Just promise me you won't do that again."

"I promise."

 **xxxxxx**

More than a year had passed since that day we reconciled.

Everything felt surreal to me so there were still days that I was thinking that everything was a dream to me.

But Sousuke was there to make sure that it wasn't.

That everything between us was in the realm of reality.

Of course, I still had disturbing visions after that.

Thankfully, I was able to confide them to Sousuke without the fear of being laughed at or be told as a fake or something similar.

In fact, he listened to me carefully and intently.

He would even give his insight as to what they could possibly mean.

I never had any more vision relating to me or Sousuke after that, as well.

But I still couldn't help fearing that it won't end with just that.

And one day, I was able to know that I was right.

Yet this vision I had about Sousuke was something that was beyond my expectation.

Right after our date that day, we decided to make a stop by the fountain.

It was still the same as it was on its other days.

But for me, the water flowing from it seemed to be sparkling even more beautiful than I would usually see it for some reason.

I only chuckled at that cheesy thought running in my mind.

What was wrong with me today?

"Are you okay? You've been quiet all the way. Did something happen?" he asked, almost inconspiciously.

But he didn't have to do that, right?

It wasn't like we were keeping secrets or anything.

"Did you have any visions lately? Especially weird ones?"

I shook my head and held his hand.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about a few things. But they're not that disturbing or weird."

I even smiled to ease his worries for me.

He removed his hand that I was holding and used it to pull me closer to him.

Probably out of instinct, I placed my head on his shoulder as we continued walking.

Not long after, we finally found an empty bench and decided to sit there to pass the time.

Now that I remembered it, this was the same bench that I sat on the day I took those photos that revealed a vision about Sousuke getting killed.

When Sousuke left after offering to buy me a snack as we pass the time, I ended up deciding to take a multi-shot photos of that fountain.

I was probably doing this out of curiosity or just a hunch that something could possibly happen to this place.

But I wanted to do it.

So I did.

I sighed deeply when I was done.

Then I took a few more deep breaths to calm myself before I looked at the resulting photos.

As soon as I saw the file folder of those saved photos on my phone's Gallery, I frowned when I saw the last four shots out of the usual five that I would take.

Well, the first one was a picture of the fountain.

That much was given.

But as I looked at it carefully, it appeared that the surrounding of the fountain was designed with Christmas lights or something similar.

Was this supposed to indicate something?

I set that thought aside for now.

I decided to look at the next one.

To my surprise, Sousuke was standing beside the fountain, looking dashing in that photo.

But he wasn't looking at the camera.

Instead, his gaze was fixated on one direction.

Anticipation and anxiety were evident in his eyes as he did so.

But what could he possibly be anticipating for?

Perhaps the answer could be found on the third photo and so I swiped on the screen to reveal it.

I could only gape at the sight of me on that photo... standing just a few feet away from Sousuke.

I looked confused, not to mention anxious, as well, on that photo.

As for Sousuke, he looked calm and was even smiling gently as he faced me.

Was I overthinking things if I said that I was having an idea as to what the visions revealed in those photos could possibly hold?

But I needed to see it all.

I didn't want to jump into conclusions and become disappointed in the end.

I sighed once again and swiped on the phone's screen so that I'd be able to see what was on the 4th photo.

I instinctively put a hand on my mouth to prevent the possibly loud gasp from escaping because of what I've seen there.

Sousuke and I were only inches closer from each other, his hands holding mine.

But when I looked closer, I saw that his right hand was holding something small.

Like a box.

A ring box.

Was this for real?

"I shouldn't have brought you here if I knew you'd end up doing this."

Though the voice startled me and snapped me out of my musings, I calmed down soon after when I realized who it came from.

I turned to the source of that voice and I saw Sousuke smiling with a guilty look on his face.

Did that mean...?

"Is this...?" I ventured, my heart glowing at the moment.

Slowly, he nodded and handed a can of fruit soda and a pack of melon bread to me.

Because of that, I decided to put my phone inside my skirt's pocket.

"I've been planning to propose to you a week from now. I don't want us to stay like this anymore. I want to have an even bigger reason for me to remain by your side for the rest of my life. And... this is what I thought of," he explained with him looking intently at me.

From there, I knew he wasn't lying to me or treating this as a joke.

I couldn't help smiling despite the tears that started to fall.

Damn it!

They won't stop falling.

I wasn't dreaming, right?

"Hey... Don't cry. I didn't plan that to make you cry like this."

"I can't help it. I never expected you to still choose to stay with me even though I'm different," I reasoned, tears still falling.

"But that doesn't make you any less of a person, Miu. I chose to love you despite all that I've learned about you. So rest assured, I'll stay loving you whatever happens. Okay?"

His words sure knew how to calm me down.

I nodded and placed my head on his shoulder.

Soon after, I felt Sousuke place a kiss on my forehead that made me close my eyes instinctively.

From there, I could tell that he was sincere and that he was telling the truth.

We watched the sunset together as we talked a lot of things.

But when he asked me about the 5th photo that came out, I only smiled mysteriously and with him watching, I deleted the file folder where the photos were saved.

"Why did you do that?" he asked in surprise.

But I just smiled and embraced him.

"I think it's for the best if I just let it happen next week. I'll give my answer to you by then."

That's right.

It was better off like that for now.

At least, I wanted to let it be that way.

It wasn't all fun to let him know the result of his proposal to me before it could even happen, right?

 **xxxxxx**

 **My first Sousuke/Miu one-shot and in my opinion, it's quite dramatic, isn't it? I'm not sure if you've read my other AU one-shots posted here. But if you did, this story was more or less connected to the universe where the stories** _ **"Has Become The End"**_ **and** _ **"Times Like This"**_ **took place. As for the story** _ **"My Heart's Searing Pain"**_ **, though the topic was the same about one of the characters possessing certain abilities, the scenes there existed in a different dimension (as I'd like to say it) than this one-shot.**

 **I'm not sure if I'd be able to write another long one-shot like this again. Anyway, we'll see in the next updates.**

 **Till next time!**


	26. You As My Reason

**Goseiger/Ninninger Crossover: Agri/Kasumi (You As My Reason)**

 _We'll just use the power that we've inherited_

 _To protect the only world that we're living in_

 _Because I couldn't imagine this world at all_

 _Without you as my reason to love and live…_

 **xxxxxx**

To wake up in a slightly dark room was one weird thing for Agri since he didn't remember going to his room that day just to sleep. But it didn't take long for him to comprehend the situation that made him end up there. His eyes widened as he remembered the events that happened prior to that time. He bolted up from the _futon_ where he was sleeping, only to be greeted with a sudden surge of pain from his side.

Almost immediately, he placed a hand on it to somehow ease the pain. He froze when he saw bandages wrapped around his body and even to both of his arms. That was when he fully remembered what exactly happened for him to sustain such wounds.

Who would've thought that even while they were enjoying a time of peace, someone would seriously try to destroy it? Not only that, several sentai teams had already fallen victims for this ridiculously powerful monster. The Goseigers were no exception to that. The last thing he remembered was the voice that kept calling his name in desperation. But then, he couldn't recall who did that.

One thing was sure, though. It wasn't Moune. She was already down and unconscious by the time he encountered the monster. So who was that?

Agri alerted himself when he felt a presence approaching. Though it wasn't foreboding, he still did it just to make sure. At that point, he finally noticed the place where he was.

He wasn't in his room.

Where the hell was he, then?

The _shoji_ door slid open and revealed a familiar person carrying a basin and a towel.

"Kasumi?" Agri could only utter in surprise when he was finally able to discern the source of that presence he felt.

The said pink ninja smiled and sighed in relief before approaching him as soon as she put down the basin with warm water in it.

"Agri-san! I'm glad that you're awake now. Are you hurt anywhere?"

As always, this girl never failed to surprise him. Nevertheless, he was glad, as well. But for a different reason now.

"I'm alright. You don't need to make a fuss out of it," Agri replied with a smile. He looked around the room once more before facing Kasumi who was now dipping the towel into the water-filled basin before wringing it. "Where is this place?"

"The Igasaki Dojo that was built by the Last Ninja, my grandfather Igasaki Yoshitaka," Kasumi asnwered without looking at him as she was still busy with the towel.

Before he could even stop her, Kasumi took his hand and placed the warm towel on one of his wounds that wasn't covered by bandage. He frowned when he finally saw that. Soon after, he faced Kasumi who was just doing her thing as she cleaned his wound.

"Kasumi?" he called out since he couldn't help feeling that something was wrong with her at the moment.

That was when Kasumi stopped and just remained looking at the wound that she was cleaning. "Our meeting wasn't supposed to be like this."

He remained silent as he allowed her to speak once again.

"I was thinking of a fun and peaceful meeting for us after that last time we saw each other. But upon hearing from our senpai that some of the sentai members were attacked indiscriminately like that, I never thought I'd see you in this state. I nearly gave in to my fear when I saw you unconscious and wounded like that. If it wasn't for Yakumo-kun reminding me of what's needed to be done, I might have succumbed to the enemy's attack."

"What are you saying, Kasumi? We can't help it if we end up dealing with one monster after another even though we could say that it's already peaceful for us," Agri said with the thought of trying to calm Kasumi from her worries.

"But then—"

"None of this was your fault," he said firmly, cutting off Kasumi's words in the process. "You just have to remember that. Okay?" After that, he remembered something important. "Wait. What happened to Moune?"

That was when Kasumi raised her head and finally faced Agri. "You don't have to worry about Moune-san. I believe she's with Kagura-chan and the others."

Agri frowned upon hearing an unfamiliar name. "Kagura?"

"The pink ToQger. In my case, she is my _senpai_ even though she's a kid. And as for you, I believe she is your _kouhai_. The ToQgers managed to avoid getting attack by the monster, thanks to the Rainbow Line's trains. As for us Ninningers, only Yakumo-kun and I was able to get out of there safe. My other cousins and even Kinji-san got hurt and now they're in the care of other sentai members who managed to retreat from there," Kasumi explained.

"What about the other Goseigers?" It was a question that hit Agri upon hearing the situation of the other sentai teams.

"I've already asked for their locations and the situation. You don't have anything to worry about for now as they were in the care of the Kyoryugers and Gobusters. All of them are alright."

As soon as he heard that, it was Agri's turn to heave a sigh of relief, mainly meant for his teammates and his sister. That means, as soon as all of them were healed, they could think of a counterattack to deal with that monster who trashed them like that.

But before that…

He raised his head and looked at Kasumi who, to his surprise, seemed to be staring at him intently. Wait… Why was she doing this?

"Is there something on my face?" Well, he could only think of a joke at a time like this since he couldn't really understand the reason why she was doing this.

Kasumi smiled a little and shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm just glad that you're alright."

Once again, Agri was left speechless with what Kasumi said. But he tried to keep it to himself for now since things had gotten a little surprising for him that he needed to focus on other important issues for now.

But at the moment, was there other important issues aside from the battle and… Kasumi?

"What are you saying? Do you really think this would kill me? I still don't have any plans of dying, you know?"

Though this made Kasumi smile once more even if it was just a little, the smile was still laced with concern and worry for the said Gosei Angel. She'd known that he was tough and could handle this kind of danger quite well. But she still couldn't help feeling worried for Agri.

She wasn't lying when she said that she nearly gave in to her fear. Not just for the lives of her cousins and Kinji who were taken down by the enemy but also for the life of Agri. Even though Agri had no idea, she could still remember that once before, he saved her life even if it wasn't monster-related.

That was the real reason why she sought him out using the reason that she needed a test subject for her newly-invented _karakuri_ at that time. She wanted to find a way to thank him for doing so, for becoming one of the bigger reasons why she was trying her best even before she chose to become a Ninninger and carry out her grandfather's will of protecting the world from Kibaoni Gengetsu.

Right now, they had a new enemy to deal with that was targeting Super Sentai members. More than ever, she musn't let her guard down and must never, ever gave in to her fear. Not only because it was her creed as a ninja but also because it would be her greatest weapon in order for her to deal with their enemy.

"Forgive me if I made it too late to save you and your sister from that enemy, Agri-san," Kasumi apologized and even bowed to prove it to him.

"H-hey! What are you talking about? It's not your fault, okay? How many times do I have to tell you that?" Moments later, Agri's expression became somber and placed both his hands on Kasumi's shoulder.

That action only made the female ninja raise her head to face him. Her expression showed confusion and guilt at the same time. He sighed first before speaking once more.

"We'll just have to continue standing up so that we can protect everyone, okay? We're warriors defending everyone important to us and to this world. So there's no need for you to apologize to me for coming late. What's important is that you came to help me and my sister. I'm grateful for that. And besides…" Agri paused at that part and just remained looking at Kasumi who seemed to be anticipating what he had to say next.

But before he could even think of anything else to add to his words, Kasumi smiled and nodded despite a few tears that fell from her eyes. Of course, that startled him.

"You're right, Agri-san. How could I have forgotten that?" Kasumi wiped the tears that streaked down her cheeks as her smile widened. Soon after, she took Agri's injured right hand that was placed on her left shoulder and continued cleaning the wound on his hand.

Once again, Agri was speechless but it was because he chose not to say anything this time. He wasn't exactly sure if Kasumi had truly understood what he wanted to say to her. But if it helped her calm down and focus at the very least, then it was enough for now.

He just watched her continue tending the rest of his wounds. But unknown to her, he also continued observing her and it didn't take long for him to notice that she, too, was injured—albeit not as grave as he was. How could this woman still do this when she was suffering from the result of her own battle?

At that point, Agri made a silent resolve to himself. That enemy had to be taken down at all cost. He would never forgive anyone who dared hurt everyone important to him. Especially Kasumi.

It was true that this wasn't what he had planned or even imagined about meeting Kasumi again after that last time they saw each other. But then, this had already happened. He couldn't do anything about it anymore. What mattered was that he could protect this…

…not just this moment that he was able to reunite with Momochi Kasumi, but also everything that has something to do with her. Her family, her duty, her dreams…

He swore to protect them all. He had the power to do that, after all. Even if Kasumi would never know his true reason why he wanted to do that, it doesn't matter.

At least for now.

"We'll fight together to end this… So don't worry, Kasumi," Agri said with conviction as he didn't remove his gaze on the said girl.

Kasumi raised her head and looked at him as soon as she was done bandaging the tended wound on Agri's arm. She nodded with a determined smile. "I know." Before she could even stop herself, she approached Agri and as gently as she could, she embraced him. "Just promise me you won't die."

Though the action had, without a doubt, stiffened Agri, it didn't last long. He just smiled and returned the gesture with his bandage-free hand. "I promise."

 **xxxxxx**

 **Okay… For a nearly two-thousand words fanfic, I'm not sure if I managed to make sense when I wrote this one. In any case, I still hope you liked it. So this is my second Agri/Kasumi crossover fanfic and this pair became my second favorite crossover pair that I thought of. I might continue to write other one-shot fanfics with regards to the plot here about an enemy attacking past Super Sentai members. So maybe there would be some crossover interactions in those fanfics in the future.**

 **For the next one-shot fanfic, it'll be another crossover but a different pair. I hope you'd be able to read it once it's posted here. Thanks for reading, guys!**


	27. The Past We've Lost

**Kyuranger** **AU:** **Stinger/Hammie (** **The Past We've Lost** **)**

 _I want to settle my mind to the past that we've lost_

 _And I want to take it back no matter the cost…_

 **xxxxxx**

"You're here at the planetarium again, Hammie? This is the fourth time for this week. Aren't you even bored at all?"

But the girl named Hammie just smiled cheekily and even showed a peace sign to the one who said it, which was her friend Lucky. And just as her friend had stated, it was indeed the fourth time for that week that she decided to head to the planetarium in town.

For some reason, there was something in that place that was urging her to go back. And for the fourth time that week, she was trying her best to figure out what was it. Sadly, she was yet to discover the answer to that.

"I can't believe you'd skip our last class just for this," Lucky grumbled even more that only made Hammie sigh exasperatingly before rashly facing him.

Of course, with that—including the fact that Hammie's intense stare could truly scare anyone, had only shut Lucky up for a while. But that intense stare slowly softened before noticing that, once again, she had stopped in front of a displayed poster of a certain constellation. When Hammie finally realized that, she looked at it with such longing eyes that she didn't know where could that kind of longing had possibly originated.

"Hammie, are you okay?" Lucky asked, now surely done out of concern.

It took a while for Hammie to even say something about that. She just remained staring at the poster of the Scorpius constellation. That part of the hallway mostly featured the 88 constellations and for the past weeks, she'd done nothing but to stare at it each time she would go to that planetarium.

"I wonder why… I keep doing this…" Hammie muttered in a wistful tone that she wouldn't understand where it could've come from.

Lucky approached her and tapped her head before rufflling her hair. If she were in her usual hyperactive self, she would've thrown a fit about that. But today was different. The gesture seemed to have calmed her down for some reason, and she was grateful for that.

"You know, this could really mean something to you/," Lucky said soon after that broke the silence between them.

That was when Hammie faced her friend with a frown as soon as his words registered in her mind. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe this constellation has something to do with your past life."

Hammie frowned upon hearing that. "My… past life?"

Lucky nodded and faced the poster that Hammie was looking at. "Well, this was just an assumption. But there's that possibility, you know."

 _I've never thought about that._ Hammie gave Lucky's words a careful thought. As he said, it was possible. But what kind of past life could she possibly have which has a relation to that particular constellation?

"Anyway, it was just one possibility. There could be other hidden reasons for you to do this."

But Hammie remained silent as she stared once more at the poster. If one would ask her, she could keep up doing this all day. And yet at the end of all that, she was sure no answer would come to her.

In order not to bore her friend any longer than necessary, the girl decided to just tour the planetarium and take her off about other things. Perhaps it would've been the best idea for her to do the thinking all alone and without interferences named Lucky. Thankfully, Lucky stopped grumbling beside her after that. In fact, they were able to enjoy the tour they did together.

It was nearly closing time when Hammie and Lucky decided to leave the place. However, her friend suddenly ended up leaving her to go home all alone because of a call from one of his friends about some trouble. She didn't dare ask about it despite her curiosity. Besides, she was sure Lucky would mention it to her tomorrow. There wasn't anything that the guy hadn't mentioned to her concerning his troubles ever since they became friends.

So she ended up walking alone as she headed home. Hammie was doing it slightly slow for some reason. Once again, her mind wandered to that Scorpius Constellation poster. At that point, she heaved quite a deep sigh. This time, because of frustration.

Seriously, what was wrong with her? Why couldn't she stop thinking about it?

Before she knew it, she reached a certain bookstore where she spotted a book written by the famous author Raptor 283. Though she was quite sure that it was just a pseudonym or even a website username. In any case, this was her favorite author and she was glad that Raptor was able to have another novel released.

For a long time now, she had been a fan of Raptor's fantasy-sci fi novel series titled "Ultimate Saviors", in which each novel featured one warrior chosen by the Kyutama to save the universe from evil. From what she remembered in one of the author's note printed on the novel, the series would have a total of 12 books. By far, she managed to collect and read 9 of the series' books.

And now, she could see that Raptor had her tenth novel released.

But then, she couldn't hide the surprise she felt upon reading the title of that novel.

"No way... Am I being played on?" Hammie muttered, her eyes widened as she remained staring at the book displayed on the show window of that bookstore.

 _Scorpius System's Poison Star._

That was the title of the book and honestly speaking, her mind turned blank upon reading that. It didn't take her long to decide to buy it. But this time, she could feel that she had a different purpose in doing so. For now, she wouldn't think about that.

Hammie started reading it as soon as she spotted a bench on the park which was a part of her route going home. But she couldn't ignore the fact that her heart began beating fast as she laid eyes on the book cover's illustration.

It was a silhouette of a man with a scorpion tail.

"I know I've seen this figure before..." Hammie could only say as she ran a finger on the silhouette itself.

At the same time, however, her mind suddenly several visions that only made her close her eyes tight as the pain started to sear.

"W-what is this?!"

 _"Just run, Hammie!"_

 _"No way! I'm not going to leave you!"_

 _"I said run!"_

Those voices... Hammie was definitely sure about it. One of them belonged to her! But who could've owned the other voice? Though she could only discern sounds from those visions, she was able to know something from there.

Something terrible was happening, and most of it involved explosions.

Hammie closed her eyes once more. This time, with the purpose of letting those visions appear in her mind.

 _Hammie's eyes widened in shock as soon as the bright light coming from the Daikan dissipated. But the shock she felt wasn't because of that._

 _"Stinger!" she screamed before dashing towards the falling body of the said warrior._

 _She was just in time to catch him._

 _"Stinger! Stinger, wake up!" Hammie called out frantically, not noticing that her tears were starting to fall one by one._

 _However, even Hammie's desperate call wasn't enough to wake Stinger up. Once more, she was surprised to see the wound that he sustained upon blocking the Daikan's beam attack._

 _"Don't do this, Stinger!"_

When Hammie snapped her eyes open, she realized that she was panting for some reason. Along with that, she could feel her heart increasing the rate of its beating.

"What was that?" Hammie could only asked to herself as she tried clearing her thoughts once again.

Though she succeeded this time, it only made her feel that Lucky was right about her having a past life. But was it possible for her past life to have the same name as the one she had in this life?

"Stinger, huh...? I wonder who he is..."

Just as she was thinking about that, it only made her unaware that several people were watching her-most of them with sad eyes. Two of those people-a man with a scorpion tail and a female android-were just watching the girl somewhere near the bench where Hammie was sitting.

"Only Lucky and Hammie were the ones who still needed to be awakened from this illusion. But then..."

"Figuring out a way to get out of this illusory dimension is another of our problem. But Stinger, what do you think will happen to Hammie-chan once she finally recalled everything? You nearly died defending her from that Daikan. And now you're the one trying to do everything to make her remember."

All Stinger could do was to sigh at Raptor's words as she looked at Hammie once again. "We just have to prepare ourselves. I don't think there's any other way we can deal with this situation. Whatever happens, I'll protect Hammie."

For now, that was Stinger's resolve in which Raptor could only agreed on. It seemed that the only thing all of them could do was to wait for the time the rest of their comrades could finally recall everything and realize the illusion surrounding them.

 _I'll do everything I can to make you remember, Hammie. Whatever it takes, I'll make sure I'd protect you with my life._

But Stinger couldn't help wishing that Hammie shouldn't make him wait long before she recalled everything.


	28. If That's The Only Way

**Kyoryuger/Ninninger Crossover: Souji/Fuuka (If That's The Only Way)**

 _I'll do whatever it takes to protect you_

 _If that's the only way for you to trust me again..._

 **xxxxxx**

Fuuka couldn't quite make out what was happening in front of her at the moment. One thing she remembered, she was struck from behind while fighting a monster all by herself. That monster was something she was sure that wasn't a youkai.

Without a doubt, it was something new and also quite powerful in her opinion.

At the moment, she was struggling to even move her body so that she could finally defeat the monster. She was leaning against a tree trunk and her eyes were barely opened, that was why she was having a hard time discerning the situation.

But before she could even move her body once again even for a bit, Fuuka heard someone roared along with clashing sounds - perhaps from blades clashing together. And yet, the danger that she knew was only close to her wasn't the thing she was more concerned about. Trying her best to at least open her eyes, she finally succeeded after a few moments.

What greeted her sight (despite being slightly blurry) was the monster she was fighting earlier now dealing with a green sentai warrior. But the suit wasn't the same shade as that of Midoninger. It was something close to sea green. And there was only one sentai warrior whom she knew would be behind that suit.

"Souji-san..." Fuuka could only whisper since the attack that took her down earlier had truly made her weak.

The next moments were a blur to her. But the last thing she saw quite clearly was when KyoryuGreen glanced at her - or at least she felt it that way. Even so, something told her that it was like that.

For some reason, she also heard him say something. But before she could even make it out, she completely lost consciousness - though not without uttering Souji's name once again.

 **xxxxxx**

Souji was catching his breath as soon as he undid his transformation after dealing with that mysterious monster. However, he wasn't able to defeat it and had managed to find a way to escape for the meantime.

He could only grip the Feather Edge tight in anger. When he finally recalled the reason for him to become like that, he turned around to where he temporarily placed Fuuka just for her to be safe and to prevent that monster from completely finishing her off.

If only he arrived a little earlier, then he would've prevented this from happening to Fuuka.

"I'm sorry." Honestly, Souji couldn't think of what else to say to the now unconscious white ninja just to ease the pain that - for some reason - he couldn't help feeling.

Was it out of guilt? Of anger?

Why would he even feel something like that?

But at the moment, it was for the best if he took her somewhere in which she would be treated. As careful as she could, he carried her as soon as he took her Ninja Ichibantou and also her Henge Nin Shuriken which was thrown off when she was attacked from behind earlier.

He could only hope the others won't be bothering him in the meantime so that he could make sure that Fuuka's wounds would be tended well.

 **xxxxxx**

The first thing that greeted Fuuka as soon as she finally gained consciousness were voices. Not that many. In fact, she could only make out two voices - a male and a female.

The male one was sonething she was sure had belonged to Souji. Even though they hadn't seen each other for quite some time, she wouldn't mistake that familiar voice for anyone else. In fact, she let it remain in her heart for some reason.

As for the female one, it was something she had heard for the first time. Could it be Souji's friend? Sister? Or even girlfriend?

 _My goodness! What am I thinking at the moment?_ Fuuka could only complain in her mind before finally opening her eyes to see what was happening around her.

To her surprise, she found herself lying on a quite extravagant bed and everything around that room truly spoke of immense wealth. But her mind soon focused on a different issue despite the initial surprise she felt but still managed to hide.

"Where am I?" she asked, her voice was a bit hoarse.

That was when the two voices she heard finally stopped. Her eyes soon landed on Souji and a young woman approaching her in worry and relief.

"You're awake! How are you feeling?" Souji immediately inquired that only made her smile. But if Fuuka had to be honest, it was quite a sight to see Souji like that.

It was proven to be true when she faced Souji's female companion who smiled.

"He's been worried sick about you since you were unconscious for two days," the young woman said.

Those words surprised Fuuka to an extent and she didn't bother hiding it this time. Because of that, she bolted up from the bed but soon shut her eyes tight when she felt a sudden surge of pain coming from her left side. Both Souji and the young woman attended to her.

"You shouldn't move too much for now, Fuuka-chan."

"But Oniichan...!"

"I already told your brother and your cousins about your situation. They left you in our care for now. It seems that your brother was also attacked by that same monster you were dealing with," Souji explained without even blinking.

Of course, the last sentence increased her worries for her family, especially her brother. "Is he alright?"

Souji smiled, though just a small one but surely gentle, before nodding. "I don't think it even hurt him that much."

"In fact, Takaharu-kun was at least energetic when he and your cousins came to visit you here yesterday," the young woman added.

Those words had been enough to calm Fuuka down and she couldn't help expressing it through a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness Oniichan's alright."

The young woman - who later introduced herself as Amy Yuuzuki and also a sentai warrior - soon left Souji and Fuuka in that room in order to see who visited that mansion that Amy's family apparently owned. The moment the door closed, Fuuka could feel that the atmosphere in that room started to become tensed, if not awkward.

Then again, what could be the reason for her to feel that? This was only Souji, after all. But who was she kidding?

Of course, this was Rippukan Souji. This was the person whom she had long wished to see once more after a long time. Soon after, Fuuka heard him sigh that almost immediaty made her raise her head and face Souji.

"I wasn't thinking of something like this at all," she heard him mutter.

It only made her frown. "Huh?"

"I wasn't thinking of seeing you get hurt like that at all, if you would ask of the possible ways I was thinking of for me to see you again."

Without a doubt, those words made the white ninja speechless. He was thinking of actually seeing her again? Nonetheless, she stayed like that facing him even though her heart began acting weird as she did so.

Souji approached the bed she was sitting at and sat on the edge. "But I'm glad you're alright. If only I had arrived sooner..."

"Please don't worry about it, Souji-san. None of this was your fault. If only I was stronger and more alert, then that monster wouldn't have been able to beat me like that."

"Even some of our most experienced senpai were beaten by that monster. Right now, our utmost priority is to know its intentions to target Super Sentai members."

Fuuka nodded in understanding. But for some reason, she could feel that Souji was supposed to say something different than that. It was evident on the slightly distant look on his face. "Souji-san?"

It seemed that doing that startled the young swordsman, which only made him face her again.

"I'm alright, Souji-san. Thanks to you, I survived. So there's no need for you to worry about me." Though one would say that she could only possibly assuming things with what she was saying at the moment, she wanted to trust her instinct on this one.

That Souji was indeed worried about her.

"I wanted to remain calm about this. But I'm not sure if I could do that if I see you get hurt like that again."

Of course, she was surprised to hear those words. But it seemed that Souji wasn't planning to retract it. Did he really mean them?

"Was it like that... during the first time you saved me?" Fuuka couldn't help asking.

For a short while, she could feel that Souji appeared to be hesitating. She even thought that she would remain silent about it and not answer her question. It was proven untrue after a few more moments of silence.

"At first, I thought it would be the usual. Protecting people as I fight and making sure they won't get hurt anymore. But after saving you, I just found myself handing over that Zyudenchi to you as a protective charm. I did that even though I knew that Zyudenchi was something I need in order to deal with the enemies - particularly monsters and other evil creatures ready to cause havoc to our world." Souji sighed after that before continuing to speak. "Maybe I was still hoping that the Zyudenchi I handed over to you could protect you in some ways in my place. That it would keep you safe even though I won't be there to save you. Who would've thought that you'd end up becoming a warrior, as well?"

Fuuka couldn't help smiling at that. "It's my fault, I guess. I never mentioned that I came from a ninja family. But up to the time before Kibaoni Gengetsu was released from his seal, I think I became afraid of the day I'd finally fulfill my duty as a ninja. After my first battle, the first thing I looked at which reminded me of my desire to become strong was the Zyudenchi you gave me that one time, Souji-san. It's one of the reasons that kept me going."

Both of them weren't able to say anything after that. They just stared at each other for a few moments, before looking away almost at the same time. That action, to their surprise, had only made them laugh a bit before facing each other again.

"You should continue resting until you're better and ready to fight again. I know you wouldn't want things to end just like that."

Fuuka nodded to his suggestion. To her surprise - and slight disappointment, Souji already stood up and was about to leave the room. But he was about to turn the doorknob when he turned his head to face her.

"This time, I'll make sure I'll be able to protect you from that monster. I'm not going to protect you from that monster. I'm not going to let him hurt you like that again."

Before he could even say anything about that, Souji left the room. It happened so fast that it took Fuuka a while to comprehend it. When she finally did, the white ninja could only smile and did a grateful bow to the direction Souji went out to.

Though what happened to her was truly something unpleasant, Fuuka was glad that it became a way for her to meet Souji once again. And despite spoken in haste, her heart was surprisingly trusting to the words he uttered.

"Thank you, Souji-san."

She couldn't find it in her heart to doubt any of it. At least, she was truly sure about that.

 **xxxxxx**

 **So more or less, this is the continuation of the first Souji/Fuuka one-shot I wrote. The topic about the mysterious monster attacking Super Sentai members was first brought up on the second Agri/Kasumi one-shot posted here. And I think I might continue expanding the topic depending on the featured pair to be written next. I still need to think about it, though.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	29. This One Chance For Us

**This One Chance For Us (Boukenger's Satoru & Sakura)**

 _We only have this one chance for us to make things right for you and me..._

 ** **xxxxxx****

Only a painful groan escaped Akashi's lips as he was trying to tie the last part of the bandage on his right arm which was injured and terribly bleeding at the moment. After that, he sighed and faced the unconscious Sakura currently lying beside him, also injured.

It was one terrible mistake that led the two of them to this.

"Satoru-san..."

That hoarse voice snapped him out of his reverie and immediately turned to the source of the sound. "Sakura! You're awake?"

She nodded. "Just now." After a few moments of tenses silence, she spoke once again. "We failed to tame him, didn't we?"

No words were uttered in response to that. Instead, Akashi continued doing the bandage on his right arm. "Not just us. Even the other Sentai members failed to do the same thing. But this wouldn't have happened if we had only anticipated the danger basing it only on that Precious' Hazard level."

"I guess Makino-sensei was wrong to say it wasn't a dangerous precious at all. Well, we didn't know the Hazard level of that Precious could change drastically as soon as we retrieved it from that cave."

They both sighed almost at the same time. Not long after, Sakura tried to get up but Akashi was quick to stop her. However, she was quicker.

"Don't worry about me, Satoru-san. It's not even enough to cripple me." It didn't take long for her to finally sit properly before looking at the bandaged arm of her comrade. "It looks like that monster Precious was also too much for you to handle, Satoru-san."

"At least for now. We just have to find its weakness so that we can deal with it once and for all. It's our responsibility since we're the ones who inadvertently released it from its seal."

For some reason, Sakura sensed something weird on a tone that Akashi used. "Satoru-san..."

But Akashi chose not to say anything. Instead, he just focused on bandaging his injured right arm. Though before he knew it and before he could even stop it, Sakura was already beside him and helping him bandage the injured part properly.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself, Sakura? You're the one who's terribly injured between us."

"I'm alright now, thanks to you, Satoru-san. This is the best I can do for taking care of me despite your injury," Sakura replied without looking at him and was only busy bandaging his arm. "I'm sorry for making you do that for me."

This time, Akashi was the one who started sensing something different on Sakura's voice. "Are we going to go through this again, Sakura?"

At that point, she stopped and faced Akashi with a confused expression. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why do you think on apologizing for the things I decided to do to you? I'm helping you because I wanted to. Why do you act as if it's bothersome thing for me to do?"

Sakura was at a loss of words after hearing that. Did she really make it appear as such to Akashi? "I-I didn't mean to make you think like that."

"But you had no idea that you're acting that way, huh?" Though Akashi was slightly smiling when he said that, his tone was always underlying with seriousness that appeared to be a part of his trait already.

At that, Sakura couldn't think of a comeback. Though she didn't want to, her heart felt heavy upon letting those words finally register in her mind. "I'm sorry."

None of them spoke a word since then. Only the sound of the howling wind from outside the cave where they were at the moment could be heard. Akashi was still busy tending the other injuries he sustained from that last fight while Sakura was just looking at the bonfire.

Had she really been acting like that? Now Sakura didn't know what to think about that matter. But before she could say anything, she heard Akashi grunting that soon snapped her out.

"Satoru-san!"

It seemed that he was still struggling to tend the rest of his injuries.

"I think I don't have any right to say those words to you when I have been doing the same thing before," Akashi said soon after.

"You have every right to say them. It's something you noticed, anyway. It's your opinion." She decided to help Akashi with the bandaging again.

"Sakura..."

"And I guess... it's something I should ponder upon." She heaved a sigh and continues helping Akashi. "That way, it won't be too late to change things."

"What's there to change?"

Sakura looked up when she heard that question and eyed Akashi with questioning eyes.

But Akashi just showed and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "I think we both just need to be sensitive of each other and not only because we're comrades fighting together. We have a lot of time to do that. We just have to... take it one step at a time."

The only thing Sakura did was to continue looking at Akashi. It was the least she expected to hear from him, to be honest. But then, she must admit, he had a point on that.

This time, Sakura was the one who couldn't supress a smile after finally letting those words register in her mind. She remained silent for a while, continued to tend on Akashi's injuries.

"One step at a time, huh?" Moments later, she nodded and looked at Akashi. "Okay. Let's do that."

 ** **xxxxxx****

 ** **So now we know where the monster that attacked the other Sentai members mentioned on the other one-shots had originated, huh? I know it's been quite a while since I posted something here. Hopefully, this would continue.****


	30. Connect Our Longing Hearts

**Connect Our Longing Hearts (Kyuranger's Stinger & Zyuohger's Sela)**

 _If we meet again in another universe, please let destiny connect our two longing hearts again..._

 ** **xxxxxx****

All Sela could see stretched out before her was a dry and barren land. Despite the intense heat (which was torturing for her who truly loved the water), she was able to discern one thing.

She didn't belong to this place at all. That means she needed to find a way out of this place and finally return to her own world.

 _But how am I suppose to do that?_ Sela didn't even have any clue as to knowing where she was or how she even got there in the first place.

Upon looking around the area where she was at once again, something had sparked in her mind followed by a familiar tugging in her chest at the sight of the desert land. But that would be crazy, right? In the first place, why would she end up here?

"Why am I even here?" Sela couldn't help asking herself that question.

The heat was surely enough to drive her crazy at the moment. But there was something else that was helping her in spite of that.

Though before she could even voice it out to herself, Sela stopped to her tracks as soon as she caught sight of someone walking at a distance. Before the heat could truly make her pass out, she smiled for the reason that the person she saw walking was someone truly familiar to her.

But then, things about them didn't really become helpful in order to allow them to stay together.

 _Is that really you, Stinger?_ Those were Sela's last thoughts in her mind before completely passing out.

 ** **xxxxxx****

Stinger could only heave a sigh of relief (albeit done as silently as he could) as soon as he reached the spot where he had seen a familiar figure about to collapse to the dry ground. He was on a short vacation that Supreme Commander Shou Ronpo gave to him at the moment. And yet, for some reason, he mentioned to Raptor that he wanted to visit his home planet at least for a short while. But not once did he even think of the possibility that he would see someone familiar there.

Well, familiar in a sense that she wasn't from Planet Needle at all but from Earth.

Earth from a parallel universe, that is.

Stinger learned about it from Lucky and the rest, though. And during one of the Rebellion's mission, an encounter with a Jark Matter remnant caused his Sasori Voyager to get caught up in a wormhole. He initially thought he was going to die or get stuck in that wormhole. But to his surprise, he found himself lying on a grass field as soon as he regained consciousness.

And looking around the area, he then knew that he was standing in a completely different place, with cube-like structures around the place and all. On that place, he met a woman with shark fin on her human form.

"Sela..." Stimger couldn't help uttering the name of that shark Zyuman who was now unconscious on his arms.

But what in the world happened to her that made her end up to this place? And to the universe where he resided, at that. Sela wasn't someone who wouldn't just decide to travel to space and let her encounter a wormhole for her to end up to Planet Needle.

Not unless...

But for now, Stimger decided to let it go and just allow Sela to explain the situation. At the moment, all he could do was to take care of her. At the very least, he had to repay her for taking care of him when he was stuck in her world.

As he carried her towards the tent he was using, he couldn't help remembering the times that they spent together despite being quite short.

"I guess things like wishes could come true like this."

Then again, he asked himself a question.

Was there a time he actually wished to see Sela again? Now he really wanted to know.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of you."

 ** **xxxxxx****

 ** **It's not too much, I know. Perhaps didn't even made any sense. And this one was definitely something that has a cliffhanger.****

 ** **So then, see you next time, everyone!****


	31. Until The End

**Until The End (AU Goseiger's Alata & ToQger's Mio)**

 _No matter how much you push me away, I will hold on to you until the end so you won't be able to go anywhere..._

 ** **xxxxxx****

 ** **[Alata]****

This is really an unsettling situation for all of us. Or at least I'm thinking like that now that I can see how one part of the sky turns dark all of a sudden. But I know this has nothing to do with the weather.

Something malicious is going to happen. I can tell that much. The dark energy looming alongside that dark sky is getting stronger each passing day. Not to mention that the wind keeps on whispering ominous things.

"Are you alright, Alata-san? You've been staring at the sky for a long while now."

I turn around as calmly as I can to the source of that voice. I smile upon seeing Natsume Mio approaching me. Though she's smiling, I can see the worries that lace those beautiful eyes. Then her question finally registers in my mind.

"I'm alright. I just... like to stare at it for a while longer." Yup, lame excuse. I try to sound as normal as possible so as to not alarm her. After all, even though Mio isn't a Gosei Angel like me, it doesn't mean she's unaware of the happenings connected to me and my kind.

"Well, that's not what it looks like to me," Mio says matter-of-factly and finally stops in front of me. "Tell me the truth. Is there something going on?"

Mio's worried expression freezes me to the spot. It also erases the smile on my face knowing that she won't stop asking until she gets the answer she needs. I can only sigh and stare at the dark sky once again.

"You can't see it, can you?" I mutter without tearing my gaze from the sky.

"I can't see it. But from the look on your face, I can tell that something's going on that humans like me can't see or even feel."

I heave a sigh before facing Mio with a wry smile. How am I suppose to calm this woman down now that she's worrying like this? "Don't concern yourself with it, okay? It will only frustrate you. Besides, I'll do whatever it takes not to get you involved with anything related to us Gosei Angels."

"Well, that sucks. You know that? It's going to be impossible... especially now that I know you might be dealing with some weird war."

When she starts talking and stating her point like that, I can only keep my mouth shut to not let this discussion proceed any further. Despite not being a Gosei Angel, Mio sure is perceptive. Where did she get that kind of perception, anyway?

"Everything's going to be alright, Mio-chan. I'll make sure of it. And I'll make sure not to get you involved in anything dangerous," I can only say soon after and hold her hand to further convey my intentions to her. I just want to make sure to ease her senseless worries for me. As much as possible, I want to let her remember the good and peaceful times she had with me.

Only a heavy sigh comes out of Mio's mouth and shakes her head after a few moments of silence between us. This time, her eyes are now swirling with mixed emotions. I can't even explain them. Now I'm the one who feels worried because of that.

"Mio-chan..."

"You really like making me worry, do you?" Mio heaves another sigh. "Okay. I'm not going to ask anymore. I think it's better for me not to know too much about reality, huh?"

Her words, though I know was spoken casually, feels like there's an underlying pain in them. Definitely enough to shut me up like that. Have I been pushing her too far for her to say those words?

"By the way, Alata-san," Mio says that breaks the silence between us. "You said we're heading somewhere today. Can we still make it?"

I blink, unable to comprehend her words at first since I didn't expect her to change the subject so easily. Thankfully, it didn't last long. I smile at her and nod as her question finally registers in my mind. "You're still up for it, right?"

"Of course. I know I won't be able to hang out with you like this anymore if you're truly heading to the war. Right now, I just want to spend time with you before you decide to go away," Mio says solemnly.

This time, I can tell that she's truly scared for me, for whatever decision I'll come up with after this day with her. This only proves how well she knows me. I look at the mysterious dark sky once more. Doing this only makes me realize one thing. And I also come up with a decision that I know I'll firmly hold on to.

"Let's go. Let's not waste this day with anymore senseless worries. Okay?"

It's Mio who didn't say anything this time. Perhaps she doesn't expect those words from me? But soon after, she nods and grabs my hand which surprises me. Well, I can't help it. I'm the one who usually do that to her, even before.

"Say..." she starts. I focus my attention to her as soon as I hear her voice. "Can we head to the place you want to take me to in a not-so-usual way?"

Not-so-usual way? What is she talking about? But it doesn't take me long to figure out her words. I can only let out a chuckle as I face her once again. "You're saying we're going to fly all the way to our destination?"

Mio nods with a cheeky smile on her face. Seriously, I don't know what to do with this woman. And yet she only requests me to do this kind of thing when... she only wants me to ease her fears and worries. She said once before that it's an advantage for her that she met me-a Gosei Angel. She once said that my ability is helping her realize a lot of things compared to when she's only talking to a friend. The wind that blows her face as I fly with her once in a while just so we can head to our favorite places is calming her restless heart.

Or at least that's what Mio told me. I just listen to her as she said it once before. But now that she's requesting me to do it again, I think I can finally understand her words.

"Okay. If that's what you want," I reply, just deciding to give in to what she wants. I don't want to expect the worst, in case I truly decide to do the right thing. But it's something that can't be helped, I guess. No matter how much I deny it, there will be something that's bound to happen.

Something unexpected... or maybe something fated.

I grab Mio by the waist, which earns me a gasp from her. She probably doesn't expect that action from me, huh? Without a warning, I start flying away from that place and head to our destination-the seaside where I first met Mio.

Though the journey is quite long, I think Mio doesn't mind that. I'm able to see it from her face as she watches the view below us in such awe. From what I can see, I think she truly enjoys this way of traveling, huh?

"Are you okay? You're not feeling sick, are you?" I ask as soon as we land somewhere quite hidden from the public.

"Are you kidding? That's one of the best rides I've had in my life!" she exclaims, to my surprise. Her face turns somber soon after, however. "But why do we have to land here? There aren't many people around the beach area, anyway. We could've landed there."

I turn serious, as well. It looks like she doesn't notice something yet. "It's safer here."

I see Mio frown. From there, she probably realizes what I'm talking about. She's quiet for a while before deciding to look at the shore from the cliff where we stand. I see her eyes widen.

"Are those... Kaijin?" she asks. "You're really going to fight them, aren't you?" Mio utters. This time, fear is truly evident in her voice.

"I have to. I can't let them hurt you and the others. I don't know what's really going on in the Gosei World right now. But protecting this world is part of a Gosei Angel's duty."

Mio didn't say anything as a response. I can only watch her as she appears to be in deep thought. I don't know what in the world is she thinking at the moment. But if you'll ask me, I won't mind watching her like this forever.

Watching her face, her moves, her smile... All of them are enough. No... More than enough to continue fighting and living. I'm different from her in more ways than one and even she knows that. And yet...

Soon after, Mio faces me. I startle at that immediate action but I still try to maintain my composure, even though it's truly an unexpected move. "Is there something wrong?" I ask.

She just looks at me for a while, longer than the usual. Her face is unreadable and this happens rarely, if you ask me. And something like this only happens when-

"Alata-san..." Mio starts. She heaves a sight after that, as if trying to calm herself for a while before she decides to speak again. "I want you to promise me one thing."

I frown at her words. The level of seriousness in them is definitely different from what I'd usually hear from her.

"I know... that I won't be able to stop you from going into that war. Even though it will be hard, I just want you to come back to me alive..." Her lips is quivering as she says them, as if she's about to cry. It seems like she's still trying to hold her emotions down.

But there's still something I want to know from her. I can't remain staying in the dark like this, especially now that I'm heading out to a war to deal with such inevitable danger so I can protect not just my fellow Gosei Angel but also people like Mio.

"Why do you want me to come back alive?" I ask, almost in a whisper. I can't even trust myself to speak it out loud. I just hope-

"Because I love you," Mio replies straight-forwardly, which definitely surprises me.

Honestly speaking, I never expect that answer at all. I'm not dreaming, am I? "Y-you... love me?"

Mio nods timidly. This time, I think she can't trust herself to speak. I take that as an opportunity to tell her one thing I've been holding back all this time.

"What if I tell you I love you, too?"

She looks at me with eyes wide open. So I guess both of us doesn't expect our day to turn out like this. It's supposed to be just a usual day for us. But it seems the upcoming war and our fears piling up one after another becomes the rushing water that moves the boat of our pent-up emotions, of our feelings for each other.

Both of us smile at the same time, not minding the tears threatening to fall because of overflowing emotions resulting from that sudden confession coming from us.

"Then... you'll promise me that, right? You'll come back to me alive..." she pleads once again.

This time, I nod with conviction. For Mio, the woman whom the Heavens has sent for me, I'm willing to do anything. Especially now that I know we love each other. I finally found a reason to return alive.

Whatever it takes.

Whatever happens.

"I will. I promise."


	32. Forget All The Memories

**Forget All The Memories (AU Gokaiger's Joe & Zyuohger's Sela)**

 _"And now I must move on, trying to forget all the memories. But I can't let go of your love that has told me to hold on..."_ ~"Stay" by Carol Banawa

 ** **xxxxxx****

"Has it been really that hard?"

That voice startled Sela from her usual musings that day before deciding to turn around to see who it was. She sighed at the sight of Tusk approaching her with that stoic look on his face. Anyway, there was nothing wrong with that.

Something would've been wrong if Tusk suddenly changed his usual expressions when it comes to her.

And then, Tusk's question finally registered in her mind.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sela, don't play dumb right now, okay? I know you're still thinking of him after all this time. You can't hide anything from me."

Sela sighed at that. Was there even a time that she had hidden anything from this guy? From the time she finally discovered her powers and up to the time she made that sacrifice just for the man she ever loved to survive three years ago, her friend were all aware of it. There was no way she could hide anything from her mind-reading friend-literally.

"I was just wondering about his life right now. You know I don't normally check on his situation ever after that," Sela replied and faced Tusk with a smile.

But even with that, Sela was aware that it won't ease her friend's worries for her.

"If I would assess your decision back then, I think what you did at the time was the right thing."

At that point, Sela frowned. "In what way?"

But Tusk just shrugged. "That's for you to find out."

To be honest, Sela would sometimes consider Tusk to be a completely weird person. But even so, she came to realize that he was right.

She had to know the truth for herself.

And for that to happen-

Her musings were cut off upon sensing something strange around the area. But when she looked at the sky, there was nothing weird going on up there. Usually, if it was monster-related, the sky would turn dark-done steadily and at least to the sight of people just like her and her friend. Ordinary people were unaware and would remain oblivious to the foreboding phenomenon happening around.

At least, she was aware of that fact. She also knew that there were some humans (quite selected) who seemed to be aware of her kind's existence.

But that wasn't the issue here.

Sela looked around once more, trying to sense her surroundings to make sure what she felt a while back was real. And yet to her confusion, there was nothing.

Did she imagine it? She shook her head. It wasn't like that.

She was sure that she felt it. It was quite strong, too. Until it hit her!

The force was... familiar.

But that would be impossible, right?

"Joe would never come here anymore. I made him not to," Sela said to herself.

With that sad thought continuing to linger in her mind, Sela left the veranda and decided to head out to where she needed to go.

 ** **xxxxxx****

What was it with this house that Joe wanted to look at every time he would decide to head there? And the young woman he was secretly looking at earlier...

Why did he have this intense desire in his heart to approach her and embrace her like there would be no tomorrow? It was as if... he truly missed her.

But that would be impossible, right?

He didn't even know her. At least, personally.

It was a good thing he was able to get away from them before his presence would be known.

And yet...

How could he not recall anything about this woman if she was indeed someone just like him? There was no way he could've forgotten or at least not know anything about her. He was one of the people who truly remembered each and every active members of the factions of their kind.

So how was it possible that he couldn't recall any information at all with regards to that woman?

"How long have you been hiding here?"

That gentle but suspecting voice had startled Joe so much that he nearly fell from the tree branch where he was sitting at. It was a good thing that he was able to grab hold as fast as he could the moment he finally realized the situation. After that, he took a deep breath to calm his erratically beating heart.

Joe was about to yell at the person who gave him a shock like that, but immediately stopped when he finally saw who it was.

It was the woman he was secretly watching earlier. What was she doing here?

As for Sela, she wanted to ask anyone if someone was playing a trick on her or perhaps her own illusion powers had suddenly gone haywire because of what she was seeing at the moment.

Was Joe really here?

"Ummm..." Joe was unable to dig any plausible answer from his mind to say to the woman now looking up to him.

When he caught sight of her lonely eyes, it only made him speechless. And for some strange reason, his heart ached so much at the sight.

Was this something natural? Why was he feeling this way?

"I'm sorry. But I don't have any ill intentions to anyone here. I swear!" were the only thing Joe had said.

To his surprise, the woman smiled-albeit still a sad one that gave another ache in his heart.

"I know that. My friend would've already killed you if you truly had that kind of intention upon going here," Sela replied.

No words were uttered for a few moments after that. Just plain silence that could've made it awkward for both of them. And yet, Joe was starting to see something from his mind.

Something that he knew had happened before... during the battle three years ago...

"Are you okay?" Sela couldn't help asking in a worry upon seeing the pained expression on Joe's face.

But Joe didn't say anything. His eyes remained close as his mind continued flashing those visions. All Sela could do was to watch him bear that pain as she was aware of the possible why he was feeling pained like that. Perhaps it was a bad idea to decide to check on his situation after what she had done to him.

"Maybe you should go back home and rest. I don't think you'd be able to do anything at this rate," Sela suggested soon after.

Joe knew he could handle this kind of pain. But his mind kept on disagreeing as it continued to feel that surge of pain over and over. What was going on? This had never happened before.

It was a good thing Tusk happened to came out of the house and finally saw her and Joe. She asked her friend a favor to help Joe go home and rest in which Tusk obliged. And understandingly, at that.

All Sela could do was to watch Joe leave like that with sad eyes. Moments later, she allowed those tears she had been trying to keep from falling to finally be released.

"Don't try to recall everything, Joe. I don't want you to remember what I did that made me block your mind from my betrayal."

 ** **xxxxxx****

 ** **Did I just leave a cliffhanger there? I don't know. Anyway, I placed both the word "crossover" and acronym "AU" because that's exactly what it is since some things happened here that wasn't in their respective series at all. Especially about Sela's illusion and memory erasing ability, and also of Tusk's mind reading ability.****

 ** **Till next time!****


	33. Even In The Next

**Even In The Next (AU ToQger's Hikari & Ninninger's Kasumi)**

 _Can one lifetime be enough for me to realize that I would still end up choosing to be with you even in the next?_

 ** **xxxxxx****

Perhaps it wasn't a really good thing at all. No matter what I do, no matter how many lifetimes I had to go through. I might be someone given the ability to shield anyone with my own powers. But that doesn't mean I could shield my heart.

Not everyone could do something like that-humans and world defenders alike.

At this moment, I knew I would be facing my end. My body had suffered too much damage that it was beyond healing. And yet all I could think of was for Hikari to be safe.

He had nothing to do with any of the dangers I've been facing lately. How could those jerks suddenly decided to target innocent humans all of a sudden? It was my choice to do this.

It was my choice to keep Hikari safe at all cost. It was my mission, after all.

Right by the alley where I stopped to catch my breath, I looked around and tried to assess my surroundings. For now, I could tell that there was nothing wrong around me. No one was following me.

I could've heaved a deep sigh knowing that, but I couldn't. It wasn't over yet. I continued walking away from there after a few more moments. Doing this alone was my idea so I shouldn't complain about the lack of self-awareness that I was practically bleeding on my side.

I was hit when I tried to retrieve one of the mystical weapons created a long time ago-by Hikari's great-great-grandfather. But the Yokai and even the Shadow Kaijins weren't supposed to possess such weapons as it was meant to destroy them completely. I was surprised that a human was able to create something powerful. Until I found out that the forger of that weapon possessed great spiritual strength-one that was strong enough for him to realize the true abilities lying in each of us doing our best to defend the world from various threats.

However, Hikari's spiritual strength (and not just his Imagination) hadn't been awakened yet and I needed the weapon to be able to release the seal that possibly bound Hikari's ability within him.

At that thought, I stopped walking and sat on one corner of that area where I could still use my powers to conceal my presence to those who were after me. I couldn't help crying at the thought of the memories that Hikari and I created together would come to an end just like that because of my recklessness and my ultimate choice to protect the man I've ever come to love in my life.

I still didn't want things to end. But it seemed that this was how things between us should come to be...

 ** **xxxxxx****

 _ ** **A year ago...****_

 _Training was done for me that one summer. And man! I should really blame the summer heat for the stress I was going through. I couldn't fully concentrate and the tasks seemed to be a bit impossible to achieve for a trainee like me._

 _To relax, I ended up going out of the training center and walked around a bit. It was a good thing the park was at least considerate when it comes to this frustrating summer heat. The trees around me had helped me cool down and enjoy the rest of the day._

 _"Are you a nature lover?"_

 _That question startled me and made me turn around to know who said those words to me._

 _I couldn't help frowning at the sight of a handsome man just standing behind me with just a few feet distance. "Am I the one that you were asking that question to?"_

 _To my surprise, and my heart's delight, that man laughed heartily and nodded. But before I could even say something about that, I found myself being pulled towards this stranger._

 _The result? My face landed on his hard chest and one of his hand on my waist._

 _"Hey! Watch it where you hit that ball!" he yelled that made me look up and faced him._

 _He was looking at one direction of that part but my gaze never left his face. This was the first time I was mesmerized at the mere sight of a man's handsome features._

 _Moments later, he turned to me and faced me with worries. "Are you okay? Sorry if I have to do that all of a sudden."_

 _That broke the moment, but I didn't feel disappointed for some reason. In fact, I smiled and slowly distanced myself from him. "Why do I have a feeling that you don't usually do this to any girl at all?"_

 _"You're right, I don't. Only to you."_

 _Of course, that surprised me a lot. Only to me? What was that supposed to mean?_

 _"I'm Hikari. Nonomura Hikari." And he laid his hand to me._

 _Well, at least I was sure that this guy won't do something foolish towards me. So I might as well return the gesture, right?_

 _"Momochi Kasumi." Before I knew it, I smiled at him. For no reason at all._

 _Or was it?_

 _Hikari nodded quite happily, in my opinion. "You should do that more often, you know."_

 _"Do what?"_

 _"Smile. It makes my world even more beautiful despite the others thinking that it wasn't."_

 _Okay. One sure thing about Hikari-he could be cheesy without knowing. But I never thought that I would come to love that part of him after all the time that would passed by for us._

 ** **xxxxxx****

"If the world would seem beautiful because of my smile... How will you be able to go on once it all disappeared?" It was my question as my breathing started to become heavy and ragged.

My body was starting to get numb. But I couldn't stay here. I had to bring this to Hikari. This would protect him from those guys.

But my eyes were starting to close. Could this be it?

Please...

At least allow me to say goodbye for one last time...

Let him know that even at the exchange of my life, Hikari would always be the one person that made my life beautiful despite the reality of the life I had chosen to live...

Let him know that I'd still choose to love him even in my next life...

I still want to let him know all of it...

Please... don't let it end this way...

But I guess... it was better this way.

At least I won't see him cry because of me. Seeing his tears would've been the most painful sight of all.

I'm sorry... Hikari...

 ** **xxxxxx****

 ** **Till next time!****


	34. The End Of All Waiting

**The End Of All Waiting (Shinkenger's Chiaki & Kotoha)**

 _This is the end of all waiting and now it's my new beginning. It's because you have loved me this way..._

 ** **xxxxxx****

 ** **[Chiaki]****

Seriously speaking, of all the craziness I could think of, why does it have to be pranking Kotoha like this? Okay, she had no idea that it was me. But actually allowing those little notes to land inside her bag every time I see her on the neighborhood through my affinity with the wood element, I was starting to think that it might have scared her.

I wasn't like this before, especially when it comes to girls. Mind you, I could really charm any girl I want. Or maybe I was the only one thinking that way.

But Kotoha was someone different. Someone I chose to risk my life with, if I had to.

It nearly came to that point, though. However, she was unaware. And until now, I had no plans of telling her anything about what I did to save her three years ago.

That means she also had no idea that for the past three years, I was watching her from afar. Making sure that she was okay, that she was out of harm's way.

Should I be contented with this? I knew I shouldn't. But... she believed the lie that... I was dead. For three years, it seemed that she really believed that.

So now, this was the only thing I could do.

The crisp sound of paper being torn soon reached my ears and snapped me out of my reverie. When I decided to check on Kotoha from my position, to my surprise, it was her current boyfriend tearing the paper in which I wrote that note for her.

Did he have an idea that it came from me? I already did my best to change my handwriting so that no one would recognize that it came from me. Especially this guy who told that lie to Kotoha three years ago.

"What does he think he's doing?" I could only mumble but remained on my spot.

I shouldn't do something reckless at this point or else, my cover would be blown. But...

"Who gave you the right to just grab my things and destroy them in front of me, huh?" I heard Kotoha asked icily to the guy who ripped my note.

Oh, boy! Now this was something quite scary if it was about Kotoha. I should know. She wasn't always the calm and gentle person most people knew her.

"I am-"

"If you're still going to say that you're my boyfriend after lying to me all these years, then stop. Because that will only make me disgust you even more than before."

Lying all these years to Kotoha? What does she meant by that?

"W-what are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? Do you really have the guts to ask me that? I can't believe you. And for one thing, I've already broken up with you two months ago ever since I saw you kissing your study partner inside the library. And I have proof of that. So if I were you, you better stay away from me and stop disturbing me before I decide to break your face."

After that, Kotoha left that place without looking back at her now ex-boyfriend. Woah! I didn't even know that one at all.

So now I was left with a question. Should I go after her?

And yet, before I knew it, here I was. Walking just a little behind Kotoha but with still enough distance to make sure she won't notice me.

I saw her stop walking soon after. And that was when I saw it. She stopped at the place where I last talked to her.

It was underneath a maple tree.

She really liked going there, huh? Even though it would hurt her further. Or perhaps I was just assuming things about this one. But hey, I still had no knowing about the things that Kotoha were thinking.

"I'm wishing for something impossible, aren't I? How could I believe that jerk really lied to me if I don't even have a proof that you're still alive? Just show up, Chiaki... Please..."

That froze me to the spot. And at the same time, it made me question a lot of things that I'd been doing for the past years since the time where I nearly died.

Moments later, I saw several maple leaves starting to fall. And that was when an idea hit me.

Kotoha was looking up the tree and she was just watching the leaves as they fell one by one. But all of a sudden, several of them remained floating in the air that I knew had caught her attention already. Before I could even stop her, she turned around and her eyes widened when she finally saw me.

"Chiaki..."

I could only manage to give her a forced smile before it turned into a sad one. "I'm sorry... for only showing up now." Just great! That was the only thing I managed to say to her?

She just remained looking at me with that surprised expression on her face. Soon after, she looked up once again-eyeing the leaves that stayed in the air.

"You did this? It was just like that time... Like the first time you told me you love me..." Kotoha uttered more in awe than in disbelief.

"Because that's what I had become after that incident that nearly killed you," I said solemnly. "I was like a leaf that was about to fall because of the season. It was inevitable, so I kept on thinking that it was okay. But before I could even let go, I keep seeing your face in my mind. They were reminding me to stay holding on no matter how hard. And so I did... for the past three years..."

"But why didn't you show up to me if you were really alive since then?"

"That's because I couldn't put you in any more danger that has something to do with me. I can be more dangerous than what you can think of. So I remained hiding as I watched over you from afar. It was the only thing I could think of to keep you safe from harm. And... even from me..."

Kotoha just stared at me. I did the same. But the scary thing was that I had no idea what she was thinking-at all. It went on like that for a while before she scoffed and looked away.

"You know what? I still have no idea why I couldn't bring myself to hate you even after what you told me. I should hate you for this. And yet..." Soon after, her tears fell and she just let them

As for me, I just stood there... again. Damn it! Why was it that it was getting harder and harder for me to do anything for this woman whenever she did that?

"And yet... I couldn't. Because I couldn't bring myself to hate the one person who still made me think of things, of possible memories that we should've created together if you just didn't disappear in my life like that. Because even though they were only in my mind, all of those thoughts were capable of calming me down and making me happy in more ways than one despite the sting of pain that goes with it soon after."

I never had any idea about these from Kotoha at all, despite me still watching over her for the past years. I had this thought that because of what I did to her, to leave her like that after all that I did, I didn't have any right to appear to her like this.

Even still...

"Does this mean...?"

"I still want to know you more. Stay with you more. Talk with you more. But that will only happen if-"

"I never left your side, Kotoha. Not once. And knowing all this, I promise. I'm not going to leave your side again," I stated, cutting her words off.

Both of us were speechless after that. But the silence that went with it wasn't that all tensed. So should I consider that a good thing?

"You better."

With that, both of us smiled.

Yeah. Perhaps it was a good thing.


	35. I Know It's You

**I Know It's You (Gokaiger's Marvelous & Zyuohger's Amu)**

 _Even by your scent that passes with the wind, I don't have to look around just for me to be sure. With just the same feeling that the wind delivers, I know it's you..._

 ** **xxxxxx****

Amu appeared to be sighing a lot for quite some time now. She would always do that whenever she looked at the sky. Of course, this one didn't go unnoticed to her friends. And yet she kept on saying that nothing was wrong at all.

"The sky really looked pretty these days, that's why I kept looking at it."

That was one of her reasons.

For Amu, it was half-truth. It really looked pretty in her perception these past days.

But the sky for her held more than just its beauty. She couldn't help sighing bitterly. Why was she feeling this way, anyway? Had she gone crazy or something?

No, wait. That wasn't it.

 _It's because the sky was the sea where he sails..._ It was that thought that truly lingered in her mind over and over.

The thought that she couldn't even admit to her friends because she was aware that they would immediately know what exactly was she thinking that made her look at the sky more often than she could count.

"Amu..."

That voice was enough to bring her mind back to reality. She soon turned around to face the source of that voice. She frowned upon seeing Tusk looking at her with uncharacteristically concerned expression on his face.

"Tusk-kun? Is there something wrong?" Amu asked quite innocently.

"What exactly happened to you the day before the Gokaigers truly left Earth?"

Woah! She never expected that question to pop out all of a sudden from her friend's mouth. Not to mention, it was surprising that those words came from Tusk, of all people.

When the question finally registered in her mind, her thoughts lingered on a certain someone that she knew she would never see in her life again. How pathetic could things get for her.

"Nothing happened, Tusk-kun," Amu answered. But even she could tell that it was a lie.

And from there, her mind started traveling away once again...

 ** **xxxxxx****

 _That adventure and battle they had just to protect Cetus' last legacy as the first Zyuohger was truly something else to them. But then, thanks to the Gokaigers' help, the Zyuohgers were able to achieve that feat._

 _It was true that they succeeded in doing just that. But right after the battle, the Gokaigers still remained for a day on Earth just to relish some old memories._

 _"You said them as if it all happened a long time ago," Yamato commented with a smile._

 _"You made it sound like you're an old man, you know," Amu joked before taking a sip of her milkshake._

 _"What did you say?"_

 _But Amu just smiled innocently and enjoyed sipping her milkshake despite the tension beginning to surround them because of Marvelous reacting to that. Yamato, most of all, was starting to panic but soon took notice of a different atmosphere starting to linger._

 _Amu felt it, too. But she chose not to say anything. Instead, she smiled at Yamato who was looking at her with that worried expression. Before she could even stop herself, she faced Marvelous soon after. Though he was having a conversation with the other Gokaigers and also quite busy with eating the fourth serving of curry, she was able to smile at the sight._

 _How come she found this sight fascinating for some reason?_

 ** **xxxxxx****

Amu didn't lie to Tusk. Nothing happened between Marvelous and her that day. At least... nothing ordinary.

That day, the Gokaigers also gave them a small ride in the Gokai Galleon. While the others were having a blast inside the ship's quarters, Amu chose to go outside, for some reason.

Nothing ordinary happened. It was the truth.

But that was only because she felt something different that day as she continued looking at Marvelous while overlooking the view from the bow. The wind continuously blew that Amu found quite refreshing.

And yet the most refreshing view she had ever seen at the moment was the one standing at the ship's bow.

"The sky... The wind... I wonder if I'll know that he'll..." But Amu's words trailed off and looked at the sky once again.

"Huh? You know what, Amu? I can't understand you sometimes."

Only another smile curved out of Amu's lips as a response without looking away from the sky.

There was no knowing if the Gokaigers would still return to Earth despite being one of the heroes (no matter how much they denied it) that ptotected the planet once before. But even so, when that time comes, maybe she could do something to convince that stoic and fiery captain of theirs to stay at least for another while.

If that ever truly happened, for some reason, Amu had a feeling that she'd be able to know. She would be able to know if Marvelous had done so.

The wind in the sky would tell her...

The wind that would deliver the scent she would always recall from that moment onwards...

 ** **xxxxxx****

 ** **You might find this quite boring because of the ending and the lack of interaction between the pair.****

 ** **But even so, thank you for reading this one-shot story. Now on to the next. Just wait for it, okay?****


	36. Sometimes I Wonder

**Sometimes I Wonder (ToQger's Hikari & Kagura)**

 _"Sometimes I wonder if it's better if instead I protect you. I kept hearing it but I keep ignoring it because I was scared that I might lose you..."_ _~A Friend's Confession, 2AM_

 ** **xxxxxx****

The only thing Hikari could do at the moment was to bury his face on his hands as he continued berating himself. How could he have failed at such an important mission?

"Hikari-kun."

That call from Mio did indeed snap him out of his musings, but not enough to dispel his worries.

"How is she?" Hikari could only ask due to the lack of other things to say.

"Don't worry about her. The doctor said that Kagura will wake up soon," Mio answered with a reassuring smile.

But it seemed that those words had only made him feel guilty for more reasons than he could ever think of. He kept on telling that it was his fault that Kagura ended up getting hurt like that.

But then he remembered that Kagura was a person who would rarely blame him for the mistakes that he obviously made. She would always point it to herself. Sometimes, he couldn't help thinking that Kagura was an idiot in some ways. Or maybe gullible.

Over the years since their adventures as ToQgers, he noticed that Kagura hadn't changed so much. Perhaps... that was one reason why he was able to see other things with regards to himself in a different light.

Other things that only made him quite fearful of the possibilities that could occur once he fully acknowledged it and would allow him to make a drastic move.

"None of this is your fault, Hikari. I'm sure Kagura would say the same thing to you," Mio said that broke the silence between them once again.

"I know that. But I was there with her, Mio. And yet I..."

"You protected something that's important to you and that's what really matters."

For some reason, he really didn't like the way those words had implied. But instead of blurting it out or lashing it out to Mio, he remained silent. He only clenched his fists tight that it could be seen how his knuckles turned white with that gesture.

It took a few more minutes before Hikari and the others were given permission by the doctor to finally visit Kagura to the room assigned to the patient. And yet Mio suddenly said that Hikari should go first. Right and Tokacchi (almost) immediately understood what Mio was trying to imply with that and so they let Hikari visit Kagura first.

His mind was still in a haze, but Hikari only obliged as he had nothing better to do at the moment other than to berate himself again for being a failure to protect his closest childhood friend.

As soon as he entered the room and had a glimpse of Kagura's unconscious state, Hikari could only clench his fist once again. He still did so even after knowing that it won't help Kagura at all. He couldn't stop asking himself why he hesitated to do something to stop Kagura from getting hurt that much because of that attack.

"I can't even protect you..." Hikari murmured in agony. And to think he even made a vow to himself a long time ago about protecting Kagura at all cost, in any situation.

But then...

"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry, Kagura."

All Hikari could do the whole time was to apologize to the sleeping young woman, not knowing that doing so would eventually be a way for things to start all over again to both him and Kagura. But for now, he chose to remain by her side.

 _Perhaps it would help her..._ Of course, he knew it would help. But then, Hikari wasn't sure how it would all happen.


	37. If We Allow Fate

**If We Allow Fate (Gokaiger's Marvelous & Zyuohger's Sela)**

 _If we allow fate to let our paths cross ince again, would it be too much to ask to you that we forget the pain we've caused to each other?_

 ** **xxxxxx****

If a sigh could actually be a medium to let those hidden disappointments and what if's resonate towards the intended subject, perhaps Sela had already mentioned an entire story about a part of her life that she couldn't help feeling disappointed about. But then, it wasn't like everything she would say could easily be understood, anyway.

"Thinking about him again?"

That voice stopped Sela's trail of thoughts and turned around, only to see her friend Amu approaching her with that concerned look on her friend's face. She couldn't help grimacing at the thought that she was making Amu worry about her once again, just because she was in one corner doing some thinking.

Wait, should she really consider that as "just thinking"? Especially when it was about someone that Amu was aware of to be a person who never left Sela's mind all this time.

"I just can't help it, that's all." It was perhaps the lamest answer she could think of at the moment. But she knew that Amu would soon realize why she answered that way.

"You still think _he_ won't forgive you for saying that to him just so he would let you go?"

Sela sighed, never tearing her gaze away from the blue sky. "I don't know. But thinking back, I knew I did the right thing even though it truly hurt me to the core."

"Well, that's a really descriptive way to put it."

"Because it was the truth. And it's the truth that I've been enduring all this time. It's something I need to suffer from as my way of repenting." Sela's voice grew softer with each word spoken.

Amu could only sigh as a response to her friend's predicament. It might not have been the best thing to do to help Sela at the moment. But it was right for her to assume that her presence and less judgmental attitude towards the situation that Sela had always kept from the others was more than enough.

"Sela-chan... do you really want to undo that one mistake you did that day?" Amu asked all of a sudden.

Of course, this had only made Sela frown－not just in confusion but also in disbelief. But only for a while. Once again, a melancholic smile crossed her face before shaking her head almost litlessly. "I don't think it's possible anymore, Amu. He already left. I don't think he'll even decide to come here after all that I've said to him that day."

"So you do wish for something like that to happen."

"Undoing my mistakes? You know that no power in the universe could even do such a feat. But even if such a thing existed, I won't choose to use it."

This time, it was Amu's turn to frown. "Why not?"

"Because I know I would end up choosing to do the same thing. I'd still choose to let him go and let him do what he wanted to do－no holds barred."

As the conversation continued on between the two female Zyumans, two female space pirates could only listen to that as inconspicously as they could. Three years had passed and it seemed that things had only gotten worse (at least worse in their perception) even to their captain and not just the shark Zyuman.

Luka faced Ahim with that determined look on her face. "We better do something about this sooner before we all end up crazy dealing with a really weird captain for the rest of our lives if we let this remain as it is."

"You're exaggerating again, Luka- _san_ ," Ahim only said with her ever gentle smile. However, it didn't last long. "But you're right. We can't let this keep happening any longer. Three years is already too much."

"The only problem would be the steps that we needed to do in order to make that happen."

As Ahim nodded in agreement, Luka soon tapped her arm that immediately caught the former princess' attention. To both of their surprise, what they saw looking at Sela from a distance happened to be－

"Marvelous/Marvelous- _san_!" The two female pirates uttered together. Soon after, they only looked at each other.

Could it be...?

 ** **xxxxxx****

Perhaps an hour more had passed before Sela decided to finally head home. Well, she wasn't exactly tracking down the time that she stayed there. Her mind was still in pieces even after spending time alone. Amu left her after a few more minutes of talking because she was supposed to go on a date with Tusk.

At that thought, Sela couldn't help smiling sadly. At least her friend didn't end up like her－regretting and feeling this remorse inside of her just because she chose to let go.

"You really like staying out here alone, do you?"

Her eyes widened as she stiffened upon hearing that voice not far behind her. Sela could tell that the person was quite near. If her sharp hearing didn't deceive her, _that person_ who said those words to her only stood a few meters from where she sat at the moment.

"It can't be..." Sela muttered in disbelief. Because of that thought, she ended up lifting her hands to cover her ears. "Something must have been playing with me."

And yet a part of her kept on denying that it wasn't so. Her heart beat faster at that thought.

"If you still think of me as a part of your imagination, why don't you turn around for you to find out the truth?" That voice dared to her.

Without a doubt, that voice was truly familiar. Tears started forming at the brim of Sela's eyes as she slowly let her hands that covered her ears down and she soon stood up. Not long after that, she cautiously turned around.

Before Sela could even stop herself, those tears she'd been holding back started falling that soon blurred her vision. Especially at the sight of a familiar red-clad space pirate now smiling cockily at her with his hands crossed in front of him.

"Do I still look like a part of your imagination?" Marvelous asked without letting that smirk disappear on his face.

But the shark Zyuman remained silent as her tears continued to fall. Damn it! How come she wasn't doimg anything to stop it? How could this man still held that same penetrating gaze enough to freeze her to spot? She was a chosen warrior, for heaven's sake! She had been long doing all that she could to prove that she could be equal to Leo and Tusk in terms of fighting.

And yet, this man... His gaze alone crumbled those defenses she built all these times.

Still no words coming from Sela－since she couldn't really think of what to say now that she had seen Marvelous again, the space pirates' captain did the last thing she could think of doing.

Marvelous grabbed her head and pulled her towards him－to give her the tight hug she had been longing to feel from him since the time she let him go and let him leave Earth.

Of course, that only made the shark Zyuman cry harder. But Marvelous just remained embracing her tight without a care about the surroundings. He could care less, anyway.

"I'm sorry..."

Though uttered softly, Sela did it in a nearly heartbreaking tone that only made Marvelous clench his fist tight. He didn't expect to hear something like that from a strong-willed woman such as her.

"Just don't do that again," Marvelous whispered and remained embracing Sela.

She just nodded. For now, she would just relish that warm feeling she longed to feel once again.

As for those who were watching that scene, their faces couldn't help showing smiles of relief and joy to those two. Maybe things could change for the better from here and out after all this.


	38. To Reach This Point

**To Reach This Point (AU Kyoryuger's Daigo & Amy)**

 _We've come a long way for us to reach this point, so giving it all up isn't suppose to be an option..._

 ** **xxxxxx****

Not one of them could blame anyone for this matter.

Not the world, and not even each other.

The only thing they could say was... fate was never on their side at all. What they had at the moment was doomed to disappear from the start.

And yet they chose to ignore that, just because they felt that it wasn't right at all. That it wasn't fair, wherever they looked at it.

Daigo was breathing in a quite ragged manner as he was watching his comrade Amy fighting off a bunch of monsters in front of them. He was crouching on one knee as his left hand was supporting his weight and his right hand covered his now bleeding left side.

Damn it! How could he have failed to notice that attack?

Despite done in a fit of rage, it appeared that Amy was able to finish off the group before they could even do something to attack Daigo once again and completely finish him off. But as time continued to pass by, his sight was starting to blur.

 _Great... Why does a single wound was starting to make me weak like this?_

Daigo looked at his injured side. He couldn't help chuckling bitterly. It was indeed just a single wound. But from what he could see at the moment, that single wound would be enough to end him there and then.

 _Not yet... Please..._

He could only plead silently. The wound he had was slowly draining his strength. But he was trying to fight it off. Amy still needed him. He must not go down at the moment or everything would fall from there.

"Amy..." Daigo could only utter as he continued to watch her fighting.

She was dealing with the monster with last after blast of her _Brave_. The _Brave_ coming from Amy was quite unstable, indicating that the caster's emotional stability as it was fired wasn't good. And in his perception, it was something dangerous.

"Don't do this anymore... Amy..." Daigo called out but his words now came out as a whisper.

Now that didn't sound good at all. Once more, he looked at the wound on side. His wound was bleeding profusely, the flow seemed to have sped up before he realized it.

He could only curse as he tightened his hold on his wound. When he looked up to check on Amy, it seemed that their enemies didn't want them to leave the place alive. He was breathing raggedly and his sight was starting to blur.

 _This isn't good at all..._ Apparently, those words only resonated in his mind as he continued to watch the situation, now struggling to do so.

With Amy still fending off the annoying pests, Daigo was only thinking of one thing for this to end... for now. At least, he needed to do this for both him and Amy.

Concentrating whatever remained of his body's Brave on his bloodied right arm, Daigo focused as he closed his eyes. Moments later, his palm where his _Brave_ gathered started crackling as it steadily grew. It didn't take long for it to achieve the size of a basketball.

"Don't do it, Daigo!" Amy shouted in desperation but it fell on deaf ears as he continued to concentrate. The only thing that mattered to him was to do something to help Amy.

His eyes snapped open before hurling the crackling energy ball on his palm to the group of monsters as he screamed. Almost at the same time, he saw Amy evaded the incoming attack before firing her own _Brave_ ball towards the group. Daigo's energy ball soon burst and fired a barrage of energy shots that almost immediately wiped out the group of monsters that they were dealing with.

One ragged, heavy sigh came out of Daigo's lips before collapsing to the ground. Almost immediately, Amy rushed to his side and cradled him on her arms.

"You idiot! Why in the world did you do that? After I told you not to..." she criticized, followed by her tears starting to fall. "You know what will happen to you now that you've done that attack."

"I know... That's why I did it... since I know it saved you in the end..."

Amy's tears fell faster after hearing those words. How could this guy even think of her safety more than his own when he was the one who was terribly hurt because of all this? "You still shouldn't have done that, idiot!"

Seriously... She could still really call him like that even in this situation? Daigo couldn't help smiling bitterly at that. But that immediately faded when he suddenly coughed out blood, further making Amy worry for him.

"Just hold on, okay? The others will come to help us. You'll be fine."

But Daigo knew too well. That colossal amount of energy that he released from his body since the start of that battle had only made his body completely collapse like that. And that final attack he did...

"It's okay, Amy..." he still managed to say despite being uttered in a whisper. Damn it! He was getting weak faster than he thought.

"It's not! It's not going to be okay if you'll..." But she was having a hard time uttering the words that she wanted to say to him. "Please... Just hold on, okay?"

Daigo chose not to say anything anymore. Anymore than what he had said would only force Amy to become in denial of the reality that he knew he was going to face now that it came to this. His breathing was steady, but slowly becoming weak.

Subconsciously, he looked to the sky.

 _It's better like this... I guess..._

It was a good thing that Daigo only thought of that and chose not to utter it in front of the distraught Amy. Should he really say that he was quite aware it would come to this?

His breathing turned shallow. Closing his eyes now and let it all drift away would end it all, right? But up to that moment, even though he knew it would come to this, why was he feeling this much hurt in his heart?

And yet... Despite all that truth, the two of them fell in love. Hard. True.

So now, were they being punished just because of that?

Daigo had a lot of questions in his mind as he blankly watched Amy crying and pleading at the same time for him to remain hold on. But he could only smile sadly at the sight.

Now... he was aware of a certain fact that he just realized.

 _Maybe we weren't meant to love each other in this world. So now that I know it would come to this, maybe fate would grant us a world where we will definitely fall in love once again. And this time, we will last. We'll be together without restrictions._

So until it was time for her to go, perhaps he would continue wishing for such a world to happen. Right now...

...it was his time to finally let go.

Any more resistance could only hurt them both-too much.

 _I'm sorry... Amy._

 ** **xxxxxx****

 ** **It's the first time writing a Daigo/Amy fanfic and yet, I made it like this. Sorry. In any case, enjoy reading!****


	39. Someone Like You

**Someone Like You (Go-Onger's Ren & Saki)**

 _"On a world that's far too vast, it's nearly too exhausting to bear. But I was able to meet someone like you..."_

 ** **xxxxxx****

If one would ask Saki, she probably lost count of the number of times she sighed that day. Not to mention, her wound from that battle was still hurting and it hadn't healed yet.

But she chose this. She chose to fight. That means she had to bear certain consequences for that choice.

One of them was getting hurt like that.

"Saki, are you alright?"

Saki nodded as a response to Bomper's worried question. But she knew it wasn't enough to appease her friend.

Once again, she couldn't help wincing at the searing pain coming from her wound. She would've gotten worse wounds than this if it wasn't for someone taking most of the attacks for her.

"Saki... You don't have to hide that you're hurt, you know?"

"I'm not hiding it, Bom-chan. But he... He got hurt as well because of me." Saki touched the injured part of her arm when another surge of pain came rushing. "At times, I couldn't help wondering if I'm truly cut out doing this saving people and becoming allies of justice stuff if I couldn't even protect me friends from getting hurt like that."

"But it's something that we all know will happen when we chose this path."

Of course, it surprised Saki to hear someone spoke like that from behind. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Once again, she sighed and touched her injured arm.

"Does it still hurt?"

She didn't try hiding it and just nodded. This time, she finally turned around and found Ren standing a few feet behind her. His hand was placed on the injured part of his left side.

Just seeing that only increased her guilt as she was still thinking the reason why Ren sustained those wounds.

"Ren, are you sure you're okay to move around like this?" Bomper asked in an obviously worried tone.

But Ren just smiled and walked towards Saki who only looked down and didn't face him.

"Are you sure you're alright, Saki?"

However, she chose not to say anything as she clenched her fist. Doing so, however, only made her wince because of the surge of pain that soon followed.

"Saki..."

"It's alright, Bom-chan," Saki only said just to appease her robot's friend's worries. "It will fade soon."

"Saki."

Though stattled at the sudden call, Saki chose not to show it. Instead, she faced Ren, still with that downcast expression she didn't even bother trying to hide at all.

"You don't have to be like this to yourself. It's not your fault. Okay?"

But she couldn't bring herself to do that. At the moment, she allowed the tears she'd been meaning to let go finally fall from her eyes.

"It's my choice to protect you like that, Saki," Ren continued before placing a hand on Saki's shaking shoulder. "I knew I would end up getting hurt like this. But I never regret doing so because you're an important person to me. More than just a comrade."

Saki couldn't even remove her gaze on Ren as he was saying those words to her despite the tears that still fell. There was no hint of pretenses in them. Well, he wasn't known to be a person who would lie just for the sake of comforting someone.

At least on that part, she was glad that Ren was such a person. More than ever, she couldn't help realizing the fact that it was this gladness that made her grateful about meeting Ren amidst all the chaos that they had gone through.

"Thank you, Ren. More than ever."

Though it appeared that the blue warrior wanted to say some thing about that, but chose not to. Instead, he smiled and placed a hand on Saki's head.

"You're welcome." To whatever it was that Saki was thanking him for, he wanted to say those words to her.

It was because he, too, was thankful to Saki about a lot of things. Above it all, he was glad and truly thankful that Saki came to his life...


	40. Find My Way Back

**Find My Way Back (Kyuranger's Stinger & Ninninger's Kasumi)**

 _I just want to find my way back home before I lose sight of what's important. Stay by my side, I know I'm already home..._

 ** **xxxxxx****

Stinger could only walk aimlessly in the middle of the desert. He had no idea where he was at the moment, but he sure knew one thing. This place wasn't the universe he grew up knowing. This place didn't feel like the place he had been defending with his life.

So where the heck was he?

It was a desert, and he should be used to walking in this kind of environment knowing the fact that his home planet in the Scorpius System was similar to this.

And yet something didn't feel so right at all. Whether it was a product of his imagination or an enemy's illusion to trap him, he was aware that it was meant to do one thing-and that was to deceive him completely and end up killing him, at the worst.

On one part of that desert, another person could also be seen wandering around. But even with the blazing heat, Kasumi was trying her best to think of a way to get out of there. Especially now that she was the only one who apparently ended up in that place.

But then... where in the world was she?

Despite the heat truly enough to drain her and her reasoning, Kasumi did her best not to lose her cool. She could find a way, or at least she wanted to believe that. She had to.

However, the longer she stayed under the heat of the desert sun, the faster her energy seemed to leave her. Kasumi tried her best not to collapse but nature was trying to beat her completely at it. It didn't look so good on her part.

As she continued to walk, she saw a lone palm tree not far from where she stood. She was already breathing hard as a way of cooling herself down and also to calm her fast beating heart due to anxiety. She didn't know if she could still reach it with her energy now drained from her-or at least it felt like it.

But she had to do what it takes to reach it. She badly needed to rest and she wanted to do it not in the middle of a blazing area that would surely cook her if she stayed there longer than needed.

"Please... let me reach it..." Kasumi muttered tiredly as she took another step.

However, she collapsed upon taking a third step, making her close her eyes tightly as she'd been expecting to drop on the scorching hot sand. But nothing like that came even after almost a minute had passed.

What happened?

But exhaustion got the best of her and before she could even realize that something actually caught her from falling, she fell unconscious.

Stinger could only heave several deep breaths as his grip tightened around the woman's body whom he caught as she was about to collapse on the sand. Honestly, this was something he never expected to see in the middle of that freaking desert.

He only sighed to release the tension inside him because of what he had seen. So his eyes hadn't deceived him after all. Kasumi got stuck in this place, as well. The only question was how did she end up here.

Perhaps he would find that out later, once she regained consciousness. At the moment, this woman soon became his responsibility to take care of the instant he caught her as she was about to collapse.

"Don't worry... I'll take care of you."

Whether this was a dream or an illusion, Momochi Kasumi wasn't someone he would end up leaving just for him to survive.

A soft moan came out of Kasumi's mouth as soon as she finally regained consciousness. It didn't take long for her to open her eyes and look around the area where she was. For some reason, she sat up straight on the bed where she lay at the moment due to the shock she felt.

Where in the world was she? Inside a tent?

It was when she decided to fully assess her surroundings. Indeed, she was in a tent-one that looked like those used in a desert. At that instant, it hit her. Someone did catch her when she almost fell as she tried to reach the palm tree she saw a while back.

"It seems to me that you've regained your energy."

Probably reflect or out of instinct, Kasumi drew out her Ninja Ichibantou and pointed it to the direction where she heard the voice. Only to open her eyes wide upon seeing a familiar face.

"Stinger-san?" she ventured, still unsure if she was still dreaming or not.

But the man didn't disappear as one would expect from an illusion. In fact, that familiar man smiled at her and approached her not long after. She decided to bring down her weapon knowing it was safe.

"Where am I?" she asked the first question that lingered in her mind for quite some time ever since ending up in that place.

Stinger sat in front of her after taking a small stool to sit on. "I have no idea. I've been trying to figure out where we are since I ended up here, as well. But unfortunately, I've failed."

She sighed dejected and looked around the inside of the tent once again. "It's a surprise that you're able to do this."

"I've lived in a desert for as long as I can remember before my brother's betrayal to my clan. This is nothing to me."

Kasumi smiled. Of course, she knew that story. "And now, you seem to have gone back to where you started."

"I'd like to think about other things for now instead of dwelling in a past that already happened. Besides, it's been years."

"But still..." Kasumi chose not to continue what she was going to say. Instead, she said something else entirely different. "You were the one who caught me that time, weren't you?"

"Who else do you think would catch you?"

"Do you have the habit of answering a question with another question?" she teased as she couldn't help showing a smile.

Stinger also showed a smile, no matter how small it was. "What do you think?"

"Stinger-san!" she exclaimed and shook her head. "But... thank you for saving me."

"There's no need for you to worry. You've done the same thing to me once, remember?"

Upon mentioning that, Kasumi recalled that particular memory. Indeed, there was a time she did the same thing, only in a different circumstances. "So you still remember that."

"Why would I forget it?"

At that moment, Kasumi looked at Stinger who, to her surprise, stared at her with an intensity she wasn't quite familiar with. Of course, she considered that to be rare as the scorpion man never did that to her before. So what made him stare at her like this?

Not long after, his question registered in her mind. He did have a point. Why would he forget it? Then does that mean－?

"Now I think I know now why I ended up here," Stinger muttered that eventually broke the silence between them.

At the same time, what he said made her look at him. "Excuse me?"

But he shook his head and just gave her a water bag. How or where in the world did he acquire such important thing, she couldn't tell. But she accepted it, especially upon finally feeling her thirst.

"Thank you."

Stinger left Kasumi alone in the tent after that, which baffled her. His silence wasn't supposed to surprise her, but it still did. She couldn't help staring at the water bag she was holding.

"I wonder what's wrong with him," she whispered before finally deciding to drink from the bag and quench her thirst. But even after finishing her drink, that question still lingered in her mind.

Even so, she was glad about finding Stinger once again, even in a strange place such as that desert. It felt like... she finally reach something important.

As if... she finally reached home.

At that thought, she smiled.

Outside of the tent, heaving a heavy sigh seemed to be uncharacteristical to Stinger. But even so, he couldn't help it. He needed to take a deep breath if he wanted to calm himself down. Especially upon realizing that he said too many to Kasumi on that particular day.

Nevertheless, all that he had said were true. He would never deny any of that at all. As he glanced up to the sky, a small smile appeared on his face.

Perhaps getting trapped in that desert did give him something good to ponder on. At least, he knew he wasn't hallucinating at all, despite the worries crawling in him as he tried to think of a way for him and Kasumi to get out of that place.

"I won't let anything bad happen to you, Kasumi. I promise I'll protect you," he firmly whispered despite knowing the woman's combat ability. He did so without tearing his gaze to the sky. Both of them would get out of there. He would make sure of that.


	41. To Be The Only One

**GOSEIGER/NINNINGER CROSSOVER: AGRI/KASUMI (To Be The Only One)**

 _"I'm selfish; forgive me at least for that. I want to be the only one for you..."_ ~ Koi Ni Koishite, Kuraki Mai

 **xxxxxx**

"Hey, Kasumi-chan."

Fuuka's call had just snapped the said young woman from her musings. Kasumi sighed inaudibly right after that and put the lid of the plastic chest box down. Of all days her cousin would see her zoning out, why did it have to be the time she was looking at one of her invented devices again?

"Is there something wrong, Fuu-chan?" she asked as casually as she could and smiled as she faced her cousin.

But Fuuka didn't say anything. Instead, she just approached Kasumi and sat beside her, also looking at the invention placed inside that plastic chest box.

"It seems to me you haven't talked to Agri-san yet, huh?"

With the way Fuuka said those words, it looked like she didn't need to tell her cousin what truly troubled her.

"Is it that obvious?" Kasumi asked back instead and placed a hand on top of the plastic chest box.

Fuuka shrugged as she sighed. "To me, yes. I'm not sure about the others if they noticed you zoning out every now and then."

"I couldn't work out the courage to talk to him, for some reason, Fuu-chan. I didn't even know how it ended up like that, anyway," Kasumi sullenly confessed without looking at Fuuka. "I guess I'm not doing this right, huh?"

"Of course, you're not doing it right. You're avoiding him!" Fuuka nearly exclaimed but still managed to keep her voice down somehow, as to not alert the others who could possibly be listening.

Knowing her brother and her cousins, they could find ways to eavesdrop on their conversation. But it seemed that Kasumi could care less if such a thing happened. It was a miracle that Kasumi was still paying attention to Fuuka's words. Even so, she was glad that the said ninja was listening.

"I just..." Kasumi started after a few moments, almost in a whisper. "I just couldn't face him after what happened that day. It was a first time for me to..." she looked away and sighed, unable to continue what she wanted to say.

For a few moments, silence surrounded the two ninja cousins. It was as if both tried to weigh down the situation somehow.

"Are you still going to try even if you have the courage, Kasumi-chan?" Fuuka asked that broke the silence.

At that point, Kasumi couldn't think of what to say as an answer. To be honest, she haven't thought of it like that. "I... I don't know. Until now, I'm still thinking why I did that to Agri-san. He was just saving me from that monster and yet I..."

"You know, he's still clueless as to what made you push him away like that."

These words only made Kasumi face Fuuka in surprise. "You talked to him?"

"By chance. I went to the supermarket the other day, right? That's where I saw him and his sister Moune-san. He knew who I was because Agri-san said that you mentioned me to him a few times before. He immediately asked about you and what you were doing. I told the truth, that you were staying here at the dojo for a while and continuing your ninja training instead of focusing on your research as you had planned," Fuuka explained.

Kasumi could see that her cousin wasn't lying about that. Of course, it came to a point where she wanted to learn more about what had transpired between Fuuka and Agri that day.

"He also told me about what happened to both of you the day you two fought that monster that nearly killed his friend. He said that he didn't mean to burst out to you because of his frustration. But he couldn't understand the reason why you were about to cry when he said that he had to take care of Eri-san first before he talk to you again. When he was about to do just that, you took a leave of absence from the university and didn't leave any messages for him at all. And because of that, Moune-san said that Agri-san became even more hot-headed and slightly short-tempered than usual."

She couldn't help smiling sadly at Fuuka's explanation, especially after hearing the last sentence. Did Kasumi truly made it seem all wrong? Was avoiding Agri turned out to be a bad decision after all?

Perhaps it was about time she stopped running away in a pretense of continuing her ninja training. Kasumi could do it anytime she wanted to.

But fixing the problem she perhaps had created right at the start should be her top priority once her mind cleared up. Giving one last longing look at the plastic chest box, she faced Fuuka right after nodding once in determination.

"Fuu-chan, do you think you can help me?"

 **xxxxxx**

Agri couldn't stop pacing back and forth in front of a park bench as he checked his wristwatch for who knows how many times that day. But he couldn't help it if he was feeling this nervous. This felt even worse than facing a monster determined to wreck havoc and destroy the world.

Who would've thought a human could give this kind of trouble within him?

And yet did he really consider Kasumi as a trouble?

"Onii-chan, I don't know if you're just nervous or truly excited. But will you please sit down? I'm the one who's going to have a headache because of what you're doing," Moune complained at last when she couldn't take it anymoreーat least when it comes to watching her brother acting like this.

"You shouldn't have come if you're just going to complain," Agri retorted and resumed pacing back and forth. "But why do you think Kasumi wanted to talk to me?"

Moune shrugged. "Fuuka-san didn't mention anything specific except to bring you here since Kasumi-san asked for it. But I don't think there was any bad intention about that at all."

Agri stopped pacing and took a deep breath to calm himself down at least for a short while. This was truly unbecoming of him. Well, he could only hope something good would come out of this talkーif Kasumi truly wanted them to talk.

It took a few more minutes of waiting before Kasumi and even Fuuka arrived that froze him to spot somehow. He couldn't remove his gaze away from Kasumi as she approached the position where he and his sister was. And when the cousins finally stopped in front of him, Kasumi showed an unsure smile for some reason.

The sight only made him slightly frown.

"Thank you for coming, Agri-san," Fuuka started despite the awkward atmosphere slowly building up between the male Gosei Angel and her smart ninja cousin.

"Well, we don't have much to do on the farm, anyway," Moune answered with a cheeky smile. "And since I don't have much to do, I think I should go around the town for a bit and enjoy some time for myself. Do you want to come, Fuuka-san?"

Fuuka didn't need to be told as to what Moune wanted to happen that day. So with a reassuring tap on Kasumi's shoulder, she left her cousin in Agri's care and went with Moune.

The anxiety that Agri felt a while back only intensified when his sister left him alone with Kasumi. But he had to overcome this if he wanted to fix things with Kasumi.

As for the said smart ninja, it might not be obvious but she, too, felt incredibly nervous now that Fuuka left her her there alone with Agri. But this was what she had asked Fuuka to do for her. She had to fix the problem before she could truly trouble her so much.

"I'm sorry!"

To their surprise, both of them exclaimed those words as they bowed down to prove that they were sincere about it. When they raised their heads, they looked at each other for a few moments before smiling and soon after, bursting out a chuckle.

They straightened themselves after that and properly faced each other.

"How's... Eri-san, by the way?" Kasumi ventured, afraid that the question could cause trouble once again. But she had to do it.

"She's alright now. Alata and Hyde did everything for her to recover after that. There's no need to worry."

Kasumi nodded and sighed in relief. "That's good to hear."

"I'm sorry if I lashed out to you like that when all you did was to protect her that day, as well," Agri continued as he stared at her.

She shook her head. "You don't have to. I believe anyone would react the same way you do if the same thing happened to them."

"But stillー"

"Besidesー" Kasumi cut him off before Agri could even argue with her. "It was selfish of me to think of letting you stay with me and continue to fight when Eri-san was in that kind of position. I couldn't recall the reason why I thought of such a selfish thing, in the first place."

Soon after, she heaved a heavy sigh and looked away, unable to even take a glance at the Gosei Angel in front of her.

Though unsure, Agri wanted to know if his guess was right. "Could it be that you're jealous of Eri?"

Kasumi's eyes widened as soon as those words registered in her mind. Not to mention the teasing tone in Agri's voice as he asked that question.

"I am not! And why would you even think of it like that?" Or was she? Did her actions that day only imply it as such?

No, it couldn't be. She shook her head to shrug those thoughts off and focus on the real subject at hand.

But before Kasumi could even start a new topic just to change the point of the discussion, her eyes widened once more when Agri pulled her close and embraced her tight. On a normal situation, she would've pulled out her Ninja Ichibantou and aimed it at Agri's neck just to threaten him never to do that again.

And yet, she just stood there as she allowed him to remain embracing her like that. It might be truly selfish of her to think like that, but perhaps she did have such selfish thoughts once in a while.

In the meantime, she would just relish that little moment. She wasn't sure if it would happen again, so she better remember this one as it was happening.

"I thought you were smart, but I guess I could be wrong," Agri said that only made her frown.

Nevertheless, Kasumi didn't move a bit from her position. "What was that supposed to mean?"

But Agri only chuckled as he embraced her tighter. Her confusion and slight irritation slowly dissipated at the gesture, followed by a small smile on her lips as she allowed him to embrace her like that.

In fact, she wouldn't mind letting him do it for a long time.

 **xxxxxx**

 **I know it's been quite a while but I still hope you're reading my Sentai fanfics here. I've been focusing on writing other stories, as well** **ー** **ones that I actually intend to submit to a publishing house.** **So yeah, that's one more reason why I got busy.**


	42. Choosing To Be With You

_I'm choosing to be with you no matter what people say and not even heaven and hell can stop me about it..._

 **xxxxxx**

When Ahim chose to be a space pirate, she was well aware of the dangerous risks that goes with it. Especially since they were fighting the Zangyack who were the universe's greatest enemy at the time. Those people took a lot from her and not even the enemy's death could dissipate the pain she felt from losing them.

Over time, she was able to finally avenge her parents' deaths and the destruction of her home planet from the one who destroyed them. Thanks to her friends' helpーand most of all, Marvelous. At the time, she was determined to take on Zatsurigu all alone. But Marvelous convinced her otherwise. He reminded her of the reason why she joined the space pirates in the first place.

But that was a long time ago.

It was a regular day for them space pirates as they continued venturing the universe using the Galleon. But for some reason, Ahim couldn't sleep and she couldn't force herself anymore to do so. A lot of things had been bothering her lately and one of them was the memory of the time Marvelous saved her, only for him to end up getting severely injured.

The others kept on saying that it wasn't her fault, especially Luka. And yet, she couldn't find herself to use that as an assurance to dissipate the guilt that still lingered on even though that particular event had happened months ago on one of the planets they visited.

And because she couldn't sleep, she decided to wander around for a bit and calm herself somehow. As she continued to do so, she soon found herself going inside the Galleon's cockpit. But to her surprise, she found out that it wasn't just her who ended up wandering there.

"Ahim? You're still awake?"

"Marvelous- _san_!" She nearly exclaimed upon immediately recognizing the voice that called out to her. "I couldn't sleep for some reason."

Well, it was the truth. But she'd rather keep the reason to herself, though. "What are you doing here this late at night, by the way?"

"No reason."

Ahim chose not to believe that. But she didn't say anything about it because she knew fully well that Marvelous would rather keep things to himself instead of blurting it out to them.

For a while, they just kept silent as they both watched the cosmic view from the ship's cockpit. It did help her calm down somehow and made her forget that ill feeling she had upon waking up from her nightmare.

With that thought, Ahim soon decided to look at the man standing beside her. It was him who surely made that happen. She knew that now. And she realized that over time since she became a space pirate, her heart slowly changed when it comes to this man.

"Is there something wrong?" Marvelous suddenly asked with a frown that soon snapped her out of her musings.

Trying hard to fight down the heat slowly crawling up to her cheeks, Ahim shook her head and smiled. "It's nothing."

"You should go to sleep. We still have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Though the captain said those words placidly, it still had a warming effect on Ahim's heart. It was weird, if one would ask her. But she chose not to dwell on that detail later. She'd rather choose to appreciate the warm feeling it was giving her at the moment.

"I will go back now. Goodnight, Marvelous- _san_." She gave one last look to the space pirate captain before finally leaving the cockpit.

Yes. Ahim couldn't be more glad that she chose to be a space pirate after all that had happened to her. And she was grateful that she chose to remain as such, together with Marvelous.

She wouldn't have it any other way, even if she would be given a chance to change her life again.

 **xxxxxx**

 **Here you go! Here's my first update for this collection for the year 2019. In this story is my very first Gokaiger fanfic that is not a crossover with another Sentai series. To be honest, I don't have a particular pair to ship in Gokaiger. But of course, I came to love Marvelous and Ahim's interactions in the show. Especially when Marvelous cares for the princess. Anyway, I'll still add one-shots here even though I placed it as** _ **Completed**_ **.**


	43. For Both Of Us

_Despite not knowing how far we'll go with regards to the battle we're fighting, I'll make sure we'll both make it work out in the end for both of us..._

 **xxxxxx**

Despite the pain that seared as she tried to move around after waking up, Yayoi still did her best to walk as she was supposed to head to the lab. She had to do something - anything - that would help the Kyoryugers with this new battle they had to face.

Especially now that a new monster was attacking various Super Sentai members for some reasons. In fact, she wasn't an exception as she had to deal with it alone.

It was a good thing that her grandfather was on an expedition at the time so she won't have to worry about him getting caught up in the danger.

But soon after, a sudden thought halted her to a stop.

"I was dealing with that monster by myself and no one was around, as far as I can remember..." she muttered and soon fell into thinking. _If that's the case, then who brought me here?_

"Shouldn't you be resting? You're still injured and I don't think it's going to heal anytime soon," a voice distracted Yayoi from her musings.

She turned to the source of that familiar voice almost abruptly. Only to be surprised to see Ian approaching her while carrying a tray of food, possibly rice porridge.

"Ian-san! What are you doing here?" she couldn't help blurting out. But she ended up wincing at the surge of pain that struck her for doing so.

"Oh, my! I told you so," Ian responded before guiding her back to her bed. "You stay here for now, alright? You don't have to force yourself in doing things. I know it's not going to be easy, but try to bear with it."

Yayoi was speechless at that, she could only nod as a response that made Ian smile. But before she could finally say something, he left her there to check on something in the lab.

With a sigh, she just decided to eat the rice porridge that Ian made for her. Despite trying hard not to, she ended up smiling and finally ate it.

As she did so, her mind recalled the time she fought the mysterious monster alone. Without a doubt, it was strong. And to think that monster alone had taken down various Super Sentai members prior to their encounter.

Of course, with that thought, it was all the more reason why she had to do something to know more about that mysterious monster.

"It looks like you're done eating."

That voice distracted her from thinking once again and it didn't take her long to see that she had indeed finished eating the porridge, much to her surprise. How come she didn't realize this?

"I'm sorry." She didn't know what she was apologizing for, but she still said it.

Ian frowned to that, however, before approaching Yayoi and sat beside her on the edge of the bed. "Why are you apologizing?"

But she remained silent and looked down on the empty bowl placed on the small table in front of her.

"You don't have to feel burdened, if you're thinking of that. I saved you because I want to, okay? You're that important to me."

Those words made her lift her head and faced the gunner of the Kyoryuger. On doing so, she saw the smile on Ian's face that said those same things. That he would truly do the same thing again if it comes to that.

"Thank you," Yayoi soon said with a small smile on her face.

Before she could even stop it, she felt Ian's hand on her head gently rubbing it, as if trying to calm a child. She didn't remove her gaze from the said man, even when he finally removed his hand on her head.

"You're always welcome. And know that I'll do it again if it means keeping you safe."

Of course, she knew that. But a part of her somehow wished that his reason wasn't just because she was a comrade. But then again, she might have to deal with that later when their current predicament would be over.


	44. Start Over Just Once More

_"I really wish I could take back everything and start over just once more..." ~Just Lose It (Hurts So Much), Pets Tseng_

 **xxxxxx**

Staring out of the window wouldn't help, but it had been Sela's habit for quite some time now. It was raining at the moment and the droplets seemed louder than ever as each of it fell to the roof and to the dry ground. Yes, she knew that doing this would never help her at all.

But it was just her way of reminiscing things. Of recalling moments that should've made her life a little meaningful than before.

And yet...

"How long are you going to keep sulking out here?"

She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. In fact, she had been aware of Yamato's presence as soon as he entered the room. Only she chose not to pay it any mind even as she heard him approaching.

"I'm not sulking. I'm just watching the rain," she replied almost flatly.

"And it's something that I've been aware of. But I'm worried about the fact that you're here and not playing outside to enjoy it. You're the one who loved water the mostーwhether it's something flowing on earth or falling from the sky."

This guy seemed to truly knew Sela well. She could've smiled at that but decided not to at the last minute.

"It's okay. I'm not even in the mood to play outside, anyway," she said and sighed after that. "Why are you here, anyway? I thought you were supposed to go outside and head to town today." Sela decided to change the topic before Yamato could even say something that would make her tell the truth. She didn't want to take that risk.

"I just saw you here and thought I'd ask you to go with me."

She frowned before facing Yamato. "What do you mean?"

"I can't exactly bear looking at you all alone here. That's why I came back in hopes of dragging you out here and making you accompany me."

Okay... This was truly surprising her. What was going on? "Yamato..."

"I can't think of any other way for me to recall those things about you and the others that I've forgotten. But I want to do something for that to happen. That is... if you'll let me."

Of course. How could she have forgotten what that Deathgalien did to Yamato 3 months ago that made him lose his memories? Everything about being a Zyuohger... meeting the Zyumans... meeting her...

Everything happened that night she discovered that he was supposed to confess his feelings to her...

...and that was what hurt her the most.

Since then, her mind couldn't stop thinking of what if's with regards to that. Of what will happen if Yamato had truly confessed to her that day...

Would she be like this? Staying in one corner and forgetting the world altogether? She was supposed to be stronger than that. But everything was a little different because of her grief, of her disappointments, of her regrets...

Slowly, before she could even stop herself, she smiled. _What's done is done_ , as they say. They couldn't change what had happened, no matter what they try to do. But they could start over, create more memoriesーnew ones, at that.

Sela took a deep breath before smiling once more and stood up from where she was sitting. With that new resolve filling her head, she faced Yamato and soon approached him.

"Then... we'll start again. I'll help you remember those memories, if I could. But... if we can't, then... We'll just have to make new ones, those that could surpass the memories we made before. Will that be okay?"

Yamato's smile after she said those words turned everything bright for Sela. Before she could even stop herself, she took Yamato's hand and started dragging him out of the house.

"So we'll start today?" Yamato asked excitedly.

A nod coming from Sela was all they both needed to start anew.

 **xxxxxx**

 **After a long time, I finally wrote another Yamato/Sela fanfic. I'm glad, at the very least.**


End file.
